Trust Me
by hobbseyb
Summary: Draco has never given a reason for Hermione to trust him. But now, their futures depend on exactly that.
1. Chapter 1

**Well this is a new story I suddenly found myself writing at about 2 o'clock in the morning. I hope you guys like it :) Reviews are love!**

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Draco's eyes shot open.

The burning in his left forearm was growing. _Damn it,_ he thought, _it's the middle of the bloody night!_ He quickly pulled on his clothes and grabbed his black Death Eater robe and Mask before slipping out of his private Prefect dormitory. He glided through the hallway silently, looking determined and steeled as he headed down the corridor.

He wanted to move quickly, the Dark Lord would be angry if he took too long getting to him. The hallways were deserted; even Filch wasn't around at this time of night. He made it up to the first floor with ease. Draco picked up his pace once he was on the ground floor. He could see the door in the distance, he was almost out.

"Malfoy," he heard her spit out. Draco stopped in his tracks. _Damn it!_ He spun around quickly. The bushy haired member of the Golden Trio stood in front of him, her arms crossed over her chest with a thick pamphlet of parchment in her right hand. He immediately took note of her attire, a thin night gown and a pair of slippers, the crazy girl didn't even have socks on. He smirked; he knew what he had to do to get rid of her.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he said suavely. He stepped closer to her. He stuck out his nose and sniffed her. The scent of vanilla almost numbed his mind, but he collected himself. "Smells like a dirty mudblood to me."

"Shut it Malfoy, I don't want to hear it, where are you going?" she asked impatiently. Draco circled her once, then twice.

"Well, Mudblood, I don't think that is any of your bloody business, so I suggest you go to bed and forget this ever happened," he said. Her nightgown was just loose enough for Draco to peek down it. Hermione caught his gaze and pulled up her shirt. His smirk grew wider.

"You know you are breaking school rules, right?" she asked, trying to hide how nervous Draco was making her. He responded to her question by backing her against the wall menacingly. His body was dangerously close to hers, she could feel him rubbing up against her.

"Are you aware that you are also breaking school rules, Mudblood? No Prefect has jurisdiction to be up right now, not even the Gryffindor Princess," he said into her ear. "So tell me, why are _you_ up?"

Hermione struggled against him, but he had her pinned firmly to the wall. "Please, get off of me," she pleaded. Draco's eyes sparkled; he loved to make her squirm.

"No I don't think I will, you should feel lucky that I want to be so close to you, Mudblood," he said hotly. He could see the panic setting in her eyes. He decided to take his game a bit further. His hand fell to her waist and he gently caressed the slight curve in her body.

Something clicked inside of Draco at that moment. His hormones raged through his body faster than a seeker trying to catch the Golden Snitch. His groin stirred quickly and he soon realized his arousal was pressed into the abdomen of the bushy hair Gryffindor girl that was trembling against him.

"Please, Malfoy, please don't do this," she begged. Her hands were quivering and her knees were absolute jelly.

_Merlin, she's terrified,_ he thought. The Death Eater in him would have liked that she was so scared. He could take her right there in the hallway if he wanted. But his steel grey eyes locked with her chocolate one and he was immediately overwhelmed with guilt. Tears were falling onto her cheeks now, she was crying.

Draco stumbled backwards, trying to get away from her as quickly as humanly possible. Her body went limp and she slid to the floor with terror in her eyes. Her breathing was labored and her body was shivering from the cold of the castle.

The Dark Mark on Draco's arm burned again and he let out a low whimper before ignoring it. He knelt down beside the girl. Hermione attempted to back away from him by scooting on the floor, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. She let out a lower cry and Draco cursed himself. _Be gentle! You frightened her enough tonight!_

Draco let go of her arm and stared her in the eye. "Granger, please, I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered. The burning was growing; the Dark Lord was getting impatient. "Granger, please, I—I'm sorry, okay? Now let's get you to your common room before you freeze to death," he reasoned.

He took off his robe and wrapped it around her shoulders. Then, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and lifted her to a standing position. The terror in her eyes was still present as he held his arm around her and they walked slowly. The Mark was being relentless; he knew he would be punished when he arrived but he had to get her back to her room.

_I don't have time to have her walking at this pace,_ he thought. On an impulse, he spun her around, scooped her up, and he carried her the rest of the way. The horror in her eyes when she turned and faced him was almost enough to make him turn away from her. She sat rigid him his arms.

But there was nothing he could say, nothing he could do to comfort her. He arrived at the Gryffindor Portrait hole and set her down. Without another word, he turned and ran down the stairs. He was almost out of range when he heard her.

"Why?"

He spun around quickly. "Why what?" he called.

"You could have done anything you wanted to me; no one would have heard me yelling. Why didn't you rape me?" she asked bewildered. Draco ran his hands threw his messy hair.

"I—I don't know," he said before running down the corridor. He didn't look back, just kept running. The pain of the Mark was making it hard for him to breath.

He arrived in the forest some time later and wasn't surprised to see that Professor Snape had left without him. He took out his wand and touched it to his Mark and was apparated to Malfoy Manor.

XXX

"Forgive me, my Lord," Draco yelled as he coughed up blood. His body still twitched under the effects of the Cruciatus and it clouded his mind.

"Tell me, Draco, why were you sssso late?" the Dark Lord hissed at him. Draco collected his thoughts before answering.

"I was stopped by—by Mr. Filch, my Lord, he eventually backed down. Forgive me, my Lord, I tried to come as quickly as possible."

The Dark Lord strode over to Draco's body and violently lifted his head. He prepared himself for what he knew was coming. The Dark Lord pushed into his mind with a hard thrust, causing Draco's eyes to water. Fabricated images of himself and Mr. Filch flashed in his mind. The Dark Lord pulled out.

"Very well, Draco," he said angrily. He pushed the boy's head back down and walked away. Draco struggled to his feet, but found he was unable to support his own weight. The Dark Lord returned to his seat at the table, and Draco all but crawled to his seat.

"Friends, tonight we gather to discuss a subject that will surely disgust all of you," he drawled. "The Mudblood Granger." The room erupted into gagging and hissing. The Dark Lord put up his hand. "Now I know the very idea of her dirty blood is completely revulsive, but she may be of some use. I want one of you to try to break her."

If Draco had not have been in that room surrounded by those people, he probably would have vomited. His thoughts drifted to those of Hermione trembling under him when she though he was going to try to take advantage of her.

Draco looked around the room; Rodolphus Lestrange had his hand in the air. "Yes, Rodolphus?"

"I will gladly possess the Mudblood Granger, my Lord," he said with a sick lust in his eyes. Draco suppressed a shiver; he knew his uncle was violent and evil. He would probably enjoying having the sixteen year old girl as his little slave.

Without thinking, Draco's hand shot in the air.

"Yes, Draco?"

"Let me possess the Mudblood, my Lord. I have known her since we were children; I know her insecurities, her desires, her emotions. Let me possess her, I will not disappoint." The Dark Lord smiled at him.

"Very well, Draco, it is October, you have until the end of the term to break her. By the end of the year, I want her here in my presence."

Draco nodded quickly. He turned to his father, who was looking very proud and it made Draco sick. He didn't know how he was going to pull this off, but he knew that he was a much better option that Rodolphus Lestrange.

XXX

Draco was allowed to apparate back to the castle before any of the other Death Eaters, since he was still a student. The pain in his side grew and he was sure that he had cracked a few ribs. He crawled back into the castle and hid behind an alcove to catch his labored breath.

His thoughts drifted to the deal he had made tonight. He had to break Granger, the same girl he could have raped tonight but he chose not to. He knew he couldn't do this, but the thought of her at the mercy of his uncle made him want to wretch in the nearest toilet.

"Malfoy?" he heard. _Bloody hell!_ The girl had a robe on this time. She knelt down beside him, the thick pamphlet of parchment was sticking out of her robe pocket this time. "Malfoy are you hurt?"

"No, Granger, I just like to crawl through mud and dirt, then lay on the cold castle floor for the fun of it," he said dryly. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Where are you injured, Malfoy?"

"I think I have some broken ribs, it's making it hard to breath." He watched as Hermione pulled out her wand and used some impressive wordless magic. The bones in his chest snapped back into place with a loud CRACK. Draco let out a loud groan.

They sat awkwardly for a few moments. "Go back to bed, Granger, otherwise this time I won't hesitate to take you," he growled. He expected her to run away, but the girl sat there staring at him.

"Get out of here Granger, I'm not kidding," he growled again. He tried to stand up quickly, but ultimately found that his legs were weak.

"Even if you wanted to, you're too weak to hurt me. But you don't want to rape me, do you?" she whispered. "Otherwise, you would have just done it before."

Draco gritted his teeth and stood up. Without another word he stalked off back to the dungeons.

XXX

"He volunteered," Severus said plainly. Professor Dumbledore paced back and forth in his study, shaking his head slightly.

"Severus, he is just a boy," he whispered.

"I realize that Albus, but what is done is done. The Dark Lord expects him to break her by the end of first term. There is no telling what will happen if Draco fails to complete his task, himself and Miss. Granger would be in grave danger."

"Why did he volunteer?" the old man asked. "You and I both know he doesn't have it in him."

"The other person who volunteered was Rodolphus Lestrange, in fact, a moment longer and I would have volunteered," the Potions Master stated. Dumbledore nodded grimly. Rodolphus Lestrange was a cruel and sick wizard, Hermione would be better off dead than as his toy.

"And why does Draco seem to have a soft spot for Miss. Granger?" Dumbledore asked. The pair had been mortal enemies since the day they stepped into Hogwarts. Severus rolled his eyes.

"He is a teenage boy, Albus; do I need to explain further? I, personally, saw this coming a mile away," he stated flatly. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"You saw this coming?"

"The boy has been talking about your Gryffindor Princess since first year. His hatred was bound to turn into affection sooner or later. He probably doesn't realize it yet, but it will hit him like a ton of hippogriff feces when it does," Severus said with a smirk.

XXX

Draco knocked on the door with a firm hand.

"Enter."

He cracked the door open slightly and peered inside. His godfather was sitting at his desk grading a bunch of third year papers. Red ink littered the paper he was currently working on, and Draco couldn't help but feel bad for the poor third year Hufflepuff.

"Why have you come here?" the voice said. Draco jumped a little, he was lost in his own thought.

"I um—I was just wondering if we could talk. You know—about my task," he spat out nervously. He watched his godfather put the quill down and fold his hands in front of him.

"I'm listening…"

"Severus, you have been giving me guidance ever since I was a boy, and I need your help. I knew I couldn't go to my father about this, he would disown me. Please do not judge me, and please do not bring me to the Dark Lord," he said quickly. Severus nodded. "I am aware that I volunteered for the job, but I do not think I will be able to—to rape Granger."

Draco was confused when he saw his godfather smile at him. _Oh Merlin, he's going to turn me in!_ he thought. Panic set in as Draco thought about how he would be killed when the Dark Lord found out how much of a failure he was.

"Draco, you will not have to rape Miss. Granger," he said. Draco let out a sigh of relief. "But you will have to do exactly as I tell you to do, is that understood?"

Draco shook his head and listened carefully.

"What you have to do first, is get the girl to trust you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow guys! Junior year is kicking my butt! It has been a while since an update, and I apologize for the wait. I will share with you a bit of advice that my senior friend said and I quote, "You may think this is going to be a fun year, but your teachers are going to rip you a new arsehole." I am completely petrified to say the least. Not to mention that a wicked cold has been spreading around the school like wild fire and I have been a victim for the last week. You try taking an AP Stats test when you're head wants to explode... Love you all. Reviews are LOVE and I need love guys :)**

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_How the bloody hell do I get the girl to trust me? _Draco thought as he left Snape's office. He had prefect duties tonight so he headed up to the seventh floor to meet his assigned partner.

_How do I erase six years of hate and replace it with undying trust? _he thought again, stopping momentarily to punch the stone wall. He immediately regretted it, though. His hand started to swell and discolor.

Mumbling curses under his breath, he continued to walk.

_She won't trust me, she won't. I need to prove to her that I am trying to protect her. Why am I even trying to protect her?_

By the time he reached the sixth floor, Draco had made a plan. It was simple really; he would do little things to show her his good side. Perhaps pick up her books in class, ask for her assistance with a spell, things out of his character that she would definitely notice.

Draco smiled at his plan and quickly climbed the steps to the seventh floor. The smile quickly vanished when he realized that Hermione was standing at the top of the stairs waiting for her prefect partner for the night.

_Of all the prefects it had to be her!?_

"Malfoy," she said shortly. Draco blinked like an idiot a few times before responding.

"Mudblood," he greeted. _Damn it! Bad habit!_ Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You know, that was old back in third year, I don't care anymore," she replied. She quickly turned and started walking down the corridor to start their duties. Draco followed silently.

The castle was cold tonight but Draco didn't mind it. He had always loved the cold and he especially loved the snow. Some of the only good memories from him childhood were of him and his mother running on the snow covered grounds of Malfoy Manor. After they had their fun and their noses were red from the cold, his mother would take his tiny hand and bring him inside for a nice mug of hot cocoa.

Draco smiled at the thought. How he longed for life to be that simple once again.

"What are you smiling at?" he heard Hermione ask. His attentions snapped back to reality and he realized that he was grinning like a drunken imbecilic.

"None of your business," he replied with annoyance. It wasn't often that he reminisced and now Hermione had gone and ruined the moment.

"Can you stop acting strange for once in your life?" Hermione asked in a huffed breath. Draco felt his temper rising.

"Granger, I'm warning you, I am in no mood to even hear you speak tonight."

"Just you try and stop me from speaking," she said defiantly. Draco turned his head away from her. "You have no power over me, you can't make me do anything," she hummed.

Draco's hand shot out and grabbed her arm roughly. He pushed her into a wall with great force. Hermione's eyes shot wide open with pain and she cried out.

"Listen to me, Mudblood," he said stiffly. His body was pressed against hers and he could feel the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. "I have power over you at this very moment. I could take you right now and no one will hear you scream."

He could tell by the way she was breathing that he had hurt her when he slammed her against the wall. But other than the pain in her eyes, there was no fear. A tiny smirked crept over her mouth.

"But you won't do it."

"What?"

"You won't rape me, Malfoy."

Draco tried to hide the defeat he was feeling. She could see right through him, he really could not rape her. He let out a frustrated roar.

"How do you know I won't do it?" he growled, trying to make her afraid.

"You won't do it, you didn't do it that night, and you won't do it now."

Draco looked in her eyes again. _She isn't afraid, she isn't afraid of me._ Draco stepped away from her quickly. Hermione's body quickly slumped to the floor.

It didn't take him long to see the trail of blood that was trickling down the wall. Draco's eyes lit up at the realization that he had pushed her into a sharp stone in the wall. He knelt down beside her.

"Granger," he said.

"Malfoy, I'm losing blood quickly," she gasped. Draco could see a pool of blood forming beneath the girl. "Please Malfoy; I need to get to the hospital wing."

Panic washed over Draco, if he took her to the hospital wing, it wouldn't take long for Madame Pomfrey to figure out what had happened. He shook his head.

"No, Granger, let me heal you," he pleaded. He knew he was asking a lot of her, he could see the doubt in her eyes. "If I take you to the hospital wing I'll be expelled and if that happens we are both as good as dead."

"What do—."

"Please, I don't have time to explain it all right now. Just let me heal you, you're bleeding everywhere."

They sat silently for a few moments. Finally, Hermione gingerly nodded her head and Draco got to work. He pulled off her black school robes and threw them on the floor a few feet away. Then he rolled her on her stomach with great care and inspected the torn area of her jumper. Probing the material, he saw a bloody gash on her back.

He glided his hand against the torn flesh. The touch made Hermione wince loudly and Draco quickly pulled his hand away.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying to be careful," he reassured her.

He pulled out his wand and murmured a few spells. The wound cleaned itself and the flesh started to sew back together. By the time he was finished, a clean scar ran across Hermione's back.

"I'm finished," he stated. He watched her move her small hand to her back and run her fingers over the scar. She rolled over and sat up carefully.

"Thank you," she said softly. He watched her attempt to stand up, but dizziness overtook her and she knelt on the ground. _The loss of blood._

"Granger, I have some potions in my room," he said and lifted her up in his arms. She didn't protest. He practically ran all the way down to the dungeons and to his Prefect room.

"Chocolate Frogs," he said and the portrait opened for him. Draco sat Hermione down on his couch next to the fire place. He ran to his trunk and pulled out the vial of Blood Replenisher.

"Drink this Granger," he said to her once he returned. Without hesitation, she drank it. Draco watched as color returned to her face and he let out a small sigh of relief. He sat down on the opposite end of the couch.

Never in a million years did he ever think that Hermione Granger would voluntarily be in his room. He almost laughed at the thought even now.

"Are you going to tell me now?"

"Tell you what?"

"You said that if you got expelled, we would both be as good as dead. Who would kill us?" she asked. Draco hand shot to his head and his fingers started to nervously comb his blonde mess of hair.

She couldn't know yet. She just couldn't. She wouldn't understand what he was trying to do for her. He knew that she would think that he just wanted to possess her. She would probably run to the Order and they would hide her in a safe house. If his life didn't hang on the line as well, he probably would have suggested that she do just that.

But now he had a problem. Hermione Granger wanted answers and she wanted them now. Draco tried to calm the nervousness growing in his gut.

"Granger, I can't tell you until I have something of yours," he tried to explain. The girl narrowed her eyes.

"And what exactly do you have to have of mine?" she asked. _Your virginity. _

"Your trust," he said quickly before he could saw the thought in his mind. Hermione stared at him intensely. It was almost enough to make him squirm.

"That is one thing you will never have," she said threw her glare.

Draco sat puzzled now. This was the same girl that had just moments ago drunk a potion from his room without smelling it to see what it was. That was pretty damn trusting to him. She had also let him heal her wounds he had inflicted on her.

"It seems to me, Granger, that you have already started to trust me," he said with a slight smirk on his face.

"When have I ever trusted you?" she spat.

"Just now in the hall, you let me heal you and you also drank my potions," he pointed out. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I was in pain, I couldn't walk and you weren't going to bring me to the hospital wing. What else was I supposed to do? Bleed to death?"

"Well you're not afraid of me even though I tried to rape you," he said menacingly.

"Please, after you wimped out the first time, I knew you didn't have it in you. Coward."

Red flashed before Draco's eyes.

The anger he was feeling was visible on his pale face. His fists were clench tightly and his teeth were grinding against each other. He stood up quickly and towered over her.

"Let's get one thing straight, Granger; I am anything but a coward." He leaned down in front of her and inched very close to her face. "Never call me a coward, Mudblood." _Damn it! It slipped out again!_

Hermione pushed on his chest and he stumbled backwards. She stood now and stalked over toward him.

"You have no right to get in my face like that, Malfoy. You _are_ a coward and you are a low-life. You are still the foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach you were in third year! I was wrong about you! I thought maybe you could change!" She stormed to his portrait door and opened it. "Thank you for having mercy on me and not raping me!" she said before stepping out of the room and slamming the door shut with a forceful BANG.

Draco fell to his bed defeated.

"Well that could have gone much worse."

XXX

"Draco, man, you need to relax," Zabini said at breakfast the next morning.

Draco had not slept much that night and bags had formed under his eyes. His hair was a ruffled mess since he hadn't bothered to comb it and his uniform was lopsided. He knew if McGonagall saw him she would take points because his shirt was untucked, his tie was crooked and his robes were a wrinkled mess.

"I know you're stressing about pleasing you-know-who, but you're starting to freak me out Drake, you never look so unraveled," Zabini continued. Draco glared at him.

"Shut it."

Draco turned back to his plate of food. He wasn't really hungry but he knew he had to eat. He shoveled a spoonful of porridge into his mouth. It tasted absolutely vial and he had to resist the urge to spit it back in his bowl.

He swallowed forcefully and lifted his head to stare at the Gryffindor table. He knew Hermione would be in her usual spot between Scarhead and the Weasel. Sure enough, there she was. She was eating her porridge and reading a Defense textbook at the same time.

Draco watched her in fascination. They hadn't spoken in a week, they acted as though each other didn't exist. She looked very attractive at the moment, her brow was furrowed slightly and you could see her mind turning. The sunlight was pouring into the room and it made her skin look heavenly. Her crazy hair was a mess, as usual; the curls sprang from her head like little springs.

Her eyes were a golden chocolate color and their gaze was glued to the words of the textbook. Draco sighed inwardly, maybe one day those eyes would look at him with—

_Stop it, she's Granger! She absolutely hates you! _The voice inside his head screamed.

_But maybe, just maybe—_

Hermione suddenly looked up. Her eyes burned deep into Draco's. His skin quickly turned a crimson color and his started to sweat. Very discreetly, she motioned at him then at the door. She got up and left the room.

"Zabini," Draco said while turning toward him. "I need to go to the library and find a book for Defense, see you later?"

"Yeah, see you later."

Draco quickly collected his things and headed out of the Great Hall. The corridor was deserted, minus one Hermione Granger. Her back was to the wall and her arms were crossed over her chest. He approached her slowly. With a flick of her wand, she casted a Disillusionment spell and a silencing charm.

"Why were you staring at me in there?" she demanded. Draco repressed his nervousness at being caught with his well-known smirk.

"You really think that highly of yourself? Wow Granger, that's very conceited," he said playfully. "I was merely observing how big and ugly your hair is."

Hermione swallowed hard.

"It is rather horrible," he lied. "No wonder no boy will give you the time of day. I wouldn't even shag you out of pity."

The tears were rushing to her eyes faster than Draco expected them to. Her skin was turning red and blotchy. Her lower lip was quivering.

"You are absolutely horrible, Malfoy," she yelled. "And for your information, I would never shag you. Even if you were the last wizard on Earth!" She gritted her teeth together and her eyes narrowed. "I would rather die."

"It's funny you say that Granger, because that is exactly what is going to happen to both of us if you don't shag me!" he yelled out without thinking. Wide-eyed, Draco wished with every fiber of his being that he hadn't said that.

* * *

**A reminder to all my readers, I have dyslexia and sometimes I don't catch mistakes because most letters look the same to me. I try my hardest though, I swear.**

** The other day my new friend laughed at me because I spelled "chef" as "shef" on my English homework. I looked at her and said "I have dyslexia". She didn't believe me at first and started laughing at me, and when I didn't laugh with her she goes "I'm a horrible bitch". So please don't judge. It actually really sucks that I don't know 'c' from 's' or 'm' from 'w' and so on. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow guys! Two chapters in one night! I actually had no homework (none that I actually felt like doing at home) so I spent it writing! This probably won't happen very often so don't get used to it :) I got a very kind review from someone and it made my day, so thank you 'Guest' for making my night! I'm totally open to your opinions and ideas. As for the story, I pretty much know where it is going all the way to the end, just not sure how long it is going to be... Reviews are LOVE and so let's spread to LOVE to me! I'm probably not going to post again until Friday or Saturday, but don't get your hopes up if things go wrong. **

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"What did you say?"

Draco could see the fury coursing through Hermione's veins like blood. He hadn't meant to tell her like that, it just happened.

"Now Granger, don't lose your head—"

"Don't lose my head?" she screamed. "DON'T LOSE MY HEAD? Malfoy, what is going on? Tell me the bloody truth before I hex you into next week!"

Draco put his hands up defensively.

"We need to see Professor Snape," he started. "I'll explain everything once we see Professor Snape." He watched as Hermione's eyes narrowed.

"Of course Snape knows about this," she mumbled more to herself than to him. She shook her head then looked up at him. "We will see him. NOW."

She turned and headed for the dungeons. Draco followed her a safe distance behind and his mind raced. He had an idea of how to make this all work, but there were certain aspects of his plan that he knew Hermione wouldn't like.

But his plan was better than him raping her, right? Even if she hated the plan, she might go along with it if she realized it was better than being raped.

They reached the door of the Potion Master's room and Hermione knocked on the door.

"Enter."

The pair walked in slowly and found the man hunched over his desk grading first years' papers. _More like slaughtering them,_ Draco thought. Draco cleared his throat. Snape looked up.

"I take it you told her," he said slowly.

"No, I wanted to do it with you here in case she tried to hex me," Draco said calmly. "I also want you to help us make a plan."

"Very well. I'm warning you, Miss. Granger, Mr. Malfoy has risked his life to keep you safe so you better be appreciative."

Draco watched the girl nod at her professor angrily and then look towards him.

"Talk."

"Put your wand on the desk first," he instructed. He was no idiot.

"It won't matter, if I'm angry enough it will just happen," she said with a smug look.

"Wandless magic?"

"I practice every chance I get," she said contently.

"Just do it."

She placed the wand on the desk next to her.

"Further away."

She picked up the wand and rolled it towards Professor Snape's desk.

"Better?" she asked with annoyance in her voice.

"Yes."

"Talk."

"That night when you stopped me in the hallway I was being summoned," he started.

"I know that," she snapped. "You're a bloody Death Eater. And you have the nerve to say I'm a disgrace to the name of wizard."

"Just let me continue!" Draco yelled.

"Well you are!" she yelled back. "Harry was right about you! He was right all along!"

"Don't make me silence you!" he threatened. Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot on the ground.

"Anyway, that night the Dark Lord asked for a volunteer for a task. I didn't volunteer at first because I knew I couldn't do it."

"What was the task?"

"Bloody HELL, Granger! Just shut up and let me finish!" he yelled again. Hermione glared at him. "The task was to break you. The Dark Lord wants one of his Death Eaters to rape you and to keep raping you until you are so broken you can't function."

"But what does this have to do with you?" she spat out quickly. "You said you didn't volunteer."

"I didn't volunteer _at first._ I only volunteered after the first person volunteered. Once they volunteered, I had to stop them. They would have hurt you," he explained.

"Who vol—"

"Rodolphus Lestrange," Draco said quickly. Hermione's jaw dropped. Draco dropped his head. "Do you understand now? I _had_ to do something. It doesn't matter that I hate you." _Lies. _"I knew Lestrange would do unspeakable things to you. So I countered his volunteer and the Dark Lord accepted it. He gave me until December."

"So now you have to rape me?" Hermione asked with a mix of disgust and nervousness.

"You know I can't," he spat. "I've thought about it since then, just doing it to get it over with. But I—ever since that night—and the terror in your eyes." He tried to voice what he wanted to say, but it wasn't coming out right.

He swallowed the knot in his throat. "I've come up with a plan, but you need to trust me fully. You need to trust me with your life. You need to trust that I am doing what is best for both of us to stay alive. Can you do that?"

"Why would I trust you?" she asked, her voice full of hate.

"Because at this point, I'm your only hope," he said firmly. Hermione nodded.

"Then I accept," she said cautiously. Draco continued.

"My plan is not something you will enjoy, but it is better for both of us than me actually raping you," he explained. Hermione nodded again.

"The Dark Lord will look into my mind on Christmas Eve and expect to see a memory of me raping you. We are going to fabricate that memory as best we can. It needs to be as close to perfect as possible."

Professor Snape spook up.

"Draco, that is a commendable idea but it entirely too risky. Any cracks in your mind and you will both be killed," he explained.

"Professor, we have no other options. I am a skilled Occlumens and Legilimens and I think I can do this with some practice," Draco replied.

"But the Dark Lord will be looking for more than just images. He is going to want emotions and feelings. He will want to feel Miss. Granger's pain and terror and feel your pleasure." Draco and Hermione visibly cringed.

"This is the part Granger won't like," Draco said carefully. "Granger, in order to create these feelings we have to—"

"I understand," she spat.

"You're not protesting anymore," Draco observed with relief.

"If I am to learn to trust you, I need to assume that you are actually doing this because you have to, and not because you want to fulfill some closet fantasy you have," she said flatly.

XXX

"This is weird," Draco whispered.

"Why are you whispering? I silenced the room," Hermione asked.

"This," he gestured at the closet they were in, "is hardly a room. I have no leg space." He tried to stretch his legs, but ended up hitting the stone wall. "I feel like a bloody pretzel."

"Stop complaining you big baby," she said before chuckling. Draco gave her his best puppy dog face.

"Can't you just move over a teeny little bit?" he asked and pouted.

"Malfoy, stop fooling around. Besides, I have no room either. Your foot is literally up my arse," she said. They both started laughing. This odd friendliness didn't feel right. "But for real, let's get started."

Both of their faces turned serious. Draco thought for a bit.

"I think I can make this easier on both of us if I use some of the memories from that first night in the hallway. It can be the beginning of the fabricated memory. I pin you to the wall and all that nonsense but we have to work from there," he explained.

"Well how should we start?" Hermione asked nervously.

"I think we need to start with emotions," he said. "You need to be scared and I need to feel—good."

He watched Hermione swallow hard.

"Just relax. You pick what we work with first, okay? I want to make this as easy on you as possible."

Hermione looked into his eyes now.

"Why do you care?" she asked.

"What?"

"Why do you care? You could have let Lestrange have me. You could have actually raped me. But instead you are determined to help me," she said. Draco sat speechless for a moment.

"I—I don't know." _Because I have liked you since fourth year._

"Never mind. Let's just get started, okay?" she said. Draco blinked a few times.

"Yeah, okay. What emotion?" he asked.

"Can we do sadness this time?"

"Yes. Okay Granger, remember what I said the other day. The Dark Lord doesn't just want a memory, he wants the feelings. The feelings are what make a fabricated memory seem real. Now what we are going to do is like borrowing feelings from an old memory of yours," he explained.

"I want you to think of a few times where you were so sad and scared. I need to feel it, so think of strong memories. I'm going to enter your mind and probe threw those memories you give me," he said. He watched her tense.

"You need to trust me. If I stumble upon something you don't want me to see, change the memory and hopefully I will follow. I'm going to be honest; it's going to feel weird at first. Are you ready?"

Hermione nodded her head slowly. Draco shifted and pulled his wand out of his pocket. He pointed it at her head. He could see her trembling slightly. Draco lifted his hand and placed it on her shoulder.

"Trust me, Granger," he said softly. She relaxed. "Legilimens."

XXX

The first memory Draco walked into was completely random. It was of Hermione and her parents celebrating her birthday. There was a birthday cake on the table with 13 candles glowing. Her parents were singing "Happy Birthday" entirely out of tune but Hermione was smiling none the less.

Draco watched with longing. Hermione blew out her candles and her father snapped a picture. The cake, chocolate, was cut up among the three of them.

"Thank you Mummy, thank you Daddy," young Hermione said. "This was a great late birthday." She shoveled cake in her mouth.

"You're very welcome darling. I just wish we didn't have to wait until December to celebrate it with you," her mother said warmly.

Draco thought for a moment. Granger's birthday was during term and her family celebrated it 3 months later.

"Hermione, dear. We have a present for you," her father said excited. Hermione's eyes widened.

"But you owled a package on my actual birthday. I love the things you sent, how can there be another present?"

Her mother beamed. "You only turn 13 once, my darling. Let's make it special," she said while placing a tiny white box with a red ribbon in front of Hermione.

"Oh Mummy, oh Daddy, you shouldn't have," she started. She pulled open the ribbon and lifted the lid. Hermione let out a gasp. Carefully, she lifted out a tiny silver necklace with a pendent of a lion. "It's gorgeous!"

"Here let me put it on you," her mother said. Hermione turned around and her mother strung it behind her neck and closed the clasp. "You look absolutely stunning!"

Hermione ran to her parents and threw hugs around them.

"Well, let me have a look at you," her father said. Hermione stood back. "Look at my girl, all grown up and beautiful."

Hermione frown.

"What's wrong dear?"

"You're just saying that because you are my parents, I know I'm ugly," she said quietly. Draco felt his stomach drop.

"Hermione, dear, what makes you think you are ugly?" her father asked. Hermione stared at the ground. Her mother cleared her throat.

"I think I know," she started. "It's that boy, isn't it? That awful boy Draco Malfoy." Hermione nodded her head.

"That same boy you punched earlier this year?" her father asked. Hermione smiled and nodded. "He is still giving you trouble?"

"Yes. He calls me ugly. He says I have big teeth and that I will never get a boyfriend," she said sadly. Her father turned red.

"I'm going to that school! I will not have my child bullied! She finally finds a place she belongs only to have it torture her as well! Not on my watch!" he yelled. Hermione went frantic.

"No! Please! You will only make it worse! He will hate me forever if he gets in trouble because I tattled!" Hermione cried. Her father calmed down. "I can handle him, I swear to you. I punched him before, I can do it again."

"Very well darling. Go wash up and put your pajamas on," her father said. Hermione ran up the stairs to her room.

Once inside she shut the door and climbed onto her bed. The tears fell freely now. Her pillow was slowly becoming saturated with her tears.

Draco watched helplessly as the girl cried. The sadness was radiating off of her. He now realized that this memory was not random at all.

Young Hermione sat up, pillow in hand. Her cheeks were stained and she was a wrinkled mess.

"Draco Malfoy, I absolutely hate you. I hate you with every bone in my body and I will always hate you," she said before putting her face in her pillow again and crying.

XXX

Draco quickly pulled his hand off of Hermione's shoulder. The girl sat in front of him panting from his invasion of her mind. They sat awkwardly until he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry," he said. Hermione stared at him in disbelief.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," he said again. "I'm sorry for making you feel ugly. I'm sorry for torturing you." He looked down at his hands.

"I accept your apology," she said quietly. "Should we do another?"

Draco nodded. "Yes. Think of a time where you were terrified."

He watched her think for a moment before placing his wand at her head. He looked into her eyes and said, "Legilimens."

XXX

Draco found himself in a corridor behind a nightgown clad Granger. He knew immediately what night this was.

"Granger," he called out. "I know this memory already, think of something else." He waited, but the memory did not change. He pulled out of her mind.

"How did you do that?" she asked in amazement.

"Do what?"

"I heard you! In my mind! How did you do that?" she asked again.

"I don't know, it just happened," he said.

"Do it again. This time I'm going to try to say something back to you," she said and opened her eyes wide for him to enter.

"Legilimens."

He was in random memory this time, he could tell. A young Hermione sat in her room reading.

"Granger, that is boring, change the memory," he said.

"Malfoy? Can you hear me?" her voice said. He opened his eyes wide.

"Yes! I can! This is incredible! I never knew I could communicate with people in their minds!" he called out.

"Would you please stop shouting? You're giving me a headache," her voice said again.

"Sorry," he said. "But this is just amazing. It's like I can communicate with you anytime I want now without anyone knowing."

He pulled out of her mind again.

"That is remarkable!" he shouted. Hermione sat there holding her head. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, just a headache, I'm fine," she said smiling.

"Well, if you have a headache, let's not continue. We can finish this up next time," he said.

"Malfoy, Halloween is in 2 weeks, term ends in about 2 months, are we going to have enough time?" she asked. Draco thought for a bit.

"We will make it work, meet me here same time next week?"

"Definitely."

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**Hit up my PM if you have questions or comments! ... I can't believe I just used the term "hit up"...**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Wow, I'm actually alive guys! This is cray! I don't know what happened, I just didn't have any homework tonight so I was like "fanfiction is calling me". I feel kind of bad considering I have another story that I have kind of abandoned at the moment to work on this one... Oops :) Well here is a new chapter, so everyone read! Reviews are love and I hope to receive some love tonight! That sounds so wrong...**

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Draco turned the corner quietly. The corridor was vacant, thankfully, and he continued on the trek to the broom closet.

It was a short walk, really, but it was two o'clock in the morning and Draco's legs were like cinder blocks. He hadn't even bothered to wear actual clothing, just his robe, his pajamas and a pair of socks. They had met the same time last meeting, but both of them had been completely dressed in school robes and ties.

_I hope she doesn't feel uncomfortable with how I'm dressed,_ Draco thought. The thought of going back to his dormitory to change crossed his mind but he was already running late.

He arrived at the broom closet and turned the door handle slowly so it wouldn't make a noise. The closet was low so he had to duck to enter. Hermione was already in the tiny space, her legs were crossed and she had a book in her hand.

Draco was surprised to see that the she too was clad in her pajamas. He could tell they were Muggle, there were green with little animals on them. She wore a baggy T-shirt that read "Manchester United" and the logo was ironically the same colors as Gryffindor House.

"What are those?" he asked. Hermione looked up from her book, _The Great Gatsby_.

"What are what?" she asked confused. Draco sat down next to her and closed the closet door. The light from her torch lit the room.

"Those yellow things on your pajamas. What are they?" he repeated. Hermione chuckled.

"They are rubber ducks," she said. Draco cocked an eyebrow.

"They are bath toys that Muggle children play with that are shaped like ducks, they float in the water," she explained.

"If they are bath toys, why are they on your pajamas?" he asked.

"I don't know. It's just good fun," she said. "Your pajamas are quite boring if you ask me." Draco looked down at his night clothes. They were white with thin green and black lines running vertically, quite boring.

"I suppose your right," he said quietly. He suddenly wished his pajamas weren't so dreary, it didn't matter that they were hand made in France.

"Would you like to get started?" she asked as she bookmarked her page and set the old paperback down.

"Oh um, yeah, let's get to work, I would like to get to bed as soon as possible," he said with a smirk.

"Tomorrow is Saturday, you can sleep in," Hermione pointed out. Draco paused for a second.

"It still doesn't change the fact that it's bloody two o'clock in the morning, Granger, I need my beauty sleep," he said. Hermione fell over laughing.

"And believe me, you need all the beauty sleep you can get!" she howled in amusement.

"Come on Granger, focus, we have a very short amount of time and a lot of memories to go through," Draco said sternly. Hermione hushed and looked at him. "Today we are going to work on terror. In this memory, you need to be afraid for your life. I need memories of when you were terrified."

Hermione whimpered. Draco could tell what she was thinking. "Granger, you need to trust me. I know it's going to be hard to relive these events, but it has to be done. We can do this quickly and I'll be with you the whole time. Just trust me."

"Do you know what it's like?"

"What?"

"To think you are about to die?" she asked quietly. "To think that this might be the very last breath you take? To think that you will never be able to say goodbye to the people you love? Do you know what that feels like?"

Draco sat speechless for a few moments.

"Yes, I do."

"You do?"

Draco turned his head and shut his eyes. "After my father was thrown into Azkaban, I was called forward to the Dark Lord. He was so angry with my family that I was sure he would kill me as punishment for my ass of a father."

Draco let out a halfhearted chuckle. "My father and I had talked about me taking the Mark in order to show remorse for what had happened, and that is what I was going to offer the Dark Lord that night. I walked into that room and I was sure that I wasn't going to come out."

He felt himself shaking at the memory. "He was so angry. He hit me with curse after curse. I was begging for him to stop, I was barely 16 at the time. When he had had his fun, I offered my arm and he branded me."

"Can I see it?" Hermione asked slowly.

"No," he snapped. Even in the dim light he could see her face turning red.

"Well why not? I've given you free leisure into my mind and I can't see your arm?" she pointed out hotly.

"That's different," he snapped again. "Those memories are just memories, they are nothing—"

"What do you mean they are nothing?" she yelled.

"They are nothing to be ashamed about!" he bellowed. Hermione sat quietly. "I don't want you to see it, because I don't even want to see it, okay?"

Draco closed his eyes, hoping that maybe this was all just a weird dream and that he would wake up soon. He flinched when he felt her tiny hand on his.

"What are you doing?" he asked quickly. Hermione drew her hand away.

"You just—looked sad," she said softly. "When was the last time you were happy? Honestly."

The question shocked Draco a little bit. No one ever bothered to ask him sentimental questions, not even his own mother.

"I—um—I don't know," he said slowly.

"Come on, think about it," Hermione smiled. "When was the last time you were truly happy?"

Draco could only think of one memory. It was the same memory from last week, himself and his mother, running along the property of Malfoy Manor on a snowy day. Something about the snow was absolutely beautiful to Draco, it was so fresh and clean.

"When I was a boy," he started, "my mother and I would play in the snow at Malfoy Manor. She would always make jokes about how we were so pale we could be mistaken for snow. I actually love the snow."

He could feel Hermione smiling at him. "Draco, take my hand." His heart skipped when she used his first name. He reached for her slender hand.

Immediately, the pair was apparated. Draco was surrounded by cold and his breath made foggy wisps around his head. He looked around quickly.

"How did you do that?" he asked in confusion. Hermione smirked at him.

"I figured out how to use weak spots in the wards to my advantage back in fourth year, I can got out of the castle whenever I want," she said.

"Where are we?" he asked. They were in an empty, snow-covered field. It was still dark out, but the full moon created a helplessly romantic feeling to the atmosphere. In the distance there was a forest of evergreen trees that looked picture perfect while hid in snow. The cold was settling into his bones.

"Sweden," Hermione said with a smile. "Isn't it breathtaking?"

"Yeah, I suppose it would be, if I wasn't so bloody cold," he said with his teeth chattering.

"Oh do stop being a whiny child, Malfoy." Hermione pulled out her wand. With a few flicks, she transfigured his thin pajamas into thick pants and a heavy coat. His socks turned into winter boots. She then handed him her torch.

"Hold this steady."

Draco did as he was told and she transfigured it into a wool hat for him. She turned her wand at herself and transfigured her clothes into proper winter attire. After she was done, she tucked her wand away and held her arms out to form a "T".

She tilted back on her heels and fell back with a soft thud. Draco watched as she flapped her arms and legs in the snow.

"Help me up, will you?" she asked when she was finished. Draco stuck out his hand to her and she grabbed it. He pulled her up slowly and she was careful not to step near her imprint. "It's a snow angel, see it?"

Draco nodded.

"Come on, Malfoy, try it," she laughed. Draco thought for a moment before spreading his arms out like she had. He hesitated before falling backwards, but the soft snow caught him.

"Now I have to flap my arms and legs?" he asked.

"Yes, but not too fast."

Draco did as she said. "Can you help me up?" He reached his hand out to her. Hermione grabbed it.

"Merlin, Malfoy! You weight too much!" she joked before yanking him to his feet. The pair stepped back and looked at his snow angel. Since he was tall and skinny, his angel mimicked his features.

"Am I really that thin?" he asked with a laugh. Hermione followed suit, laughing to her hearts content as they stared at his angel.

"Okay, Malfoy, tell me. What do you want to do while we have all this snow?" Hermione asked.

"Well, mostly my mother and I would just run around, play a sort of tag. But since I was just a kid, I didn't run very fast or very far—"

"Tag, you're it!" Hermione yelled before running off. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Granger, come back here, I am not going to play tag with you!" he called into the distance. But it was no use; Hermione was already squealing and laughing like a child.

"You'll have to catch me!" she yelled back. Draco smirked and started jogging after her. Hermione dashed to the other side of the field.

Draco quit jogging and switched to a full sprint. His long legs worked to his advantage and he was just a few meters behind her within a minute.

"Get back here, Granger!" he laughed fully. The same rush of happiness filled his body just as it had when he was a child.

"You'll never catch me!" she teased, even though he was right on her tail. He reached out and grabbed her coat, causing her to trip over herself.

With a shriek of laughter and surprise, Hermione fell to the ground into the white snow. Draco tripped over her and landed on her legs. Their laughter could have been heard from miles away.

"Granger, I think that is enough fun for one night," he said out of breath. Hermione turned her head to face him.

It was that moment when they both realized how intimately they were positioned. Hermione's face turned red and Draco could feel the heat rising in his face. He scrambled to his feet. "I'm sorry, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm just fine," she laughed and stood up while wiping the snow off her coat. They stood awkwardly.

"Thank you," he said in a whisper. Hermione's eyes went wide.

"You—you're welcome," she said.

"It felt good to be a kid again," he admitted while looking at the ground.

"Are you ready to go back?" Hermione asked and lifted her hand out for him. Draco nodded his head and took her hand.

They were back in the tiny closet again; their noses were pink from the cold. Their winter clothes were now pajamas again.

"Granger, before we actually start to work, can I show you something?" Draco asked. He could feel the nervousness rising in his throat, as if he was about to vomit.

"Of course, Malfoy," she said.

"Promise me that you won't think of me different," he said, his voice heavy with shame.

"I promise."

Draco unbuttoned the sleeve of his shirt and carefully rolled it up over his forearm. The Mark stood out on his pale skin and he refused to look at it for longer than just a few seconds.

"You're brave," Hermione said.

"What?"

"You're very brave," she repeated. "You are risking a lot just to help me. You don't even like me; in fact, on multiple occasions you have told me that you hated me."

"Granger, I don't hate you. I was a jealous little boy that didn't understand right from wrong because I had terrible parents feeding me hate like they do pumpkin juice," he said quickly. "I didn't understand how someone who was supposed to be lower than me could be beating me in every subject at school. My father used to taunt me because 'a filthy mudblood' did better than his precious son in school. You never deserved that treatment from me."

They sat silently again, it was almost unbearable.

"Thank you for showing it to me," Hermione finally said. Draco looked up into her chocolate eyes and could almost taste her sincerity.

"You're welcome," he replied. "Thank you for not—what I mean to say was—,"

"I understand perfectly," she said with a warm smile. "Would you like to finish this tomorrow night instead, I'm rather tired."

"Can't handle the schedule, Granger?" he mocked. "I never thought I'd live to see the day where you choose sleep over work."

He earned a playful glare from that remark before she stood up and opened the closet door. The moonlight came pouring into the room.

"Tomorrow," she said.

"Tomorrow."

* * *

**A/N: I feel the urge to write another chapter tonight... No promises though! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Okay guys, I've laid out all the planning for this story, and it is only now that I have realized that this story is going to become very dark within the next 7 chapters or so. I am warning you now, if you do not like stories involving torture or abuse, please stop reading. The scene I have planned will probably span 2 chapters long (maybe three) and I will mark in the AN if the chapter contains anything overly violent or inappropriate. Very adult situations are going to take place in this story, and I want everyone to know this fact in advance. **

**Anyway, about this chapter. Ummmm... PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks, love you alllll. **

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Draco found he was unable to sleep after returning to his room. He couldn't shake the thoughts of Hermione from his mind. Images of that night continuously replayed in his mind.

Why did she have to be so bloody kind all the time?

For the short while they were in the Swedish field, Draco felt the happiest he had been in years. He felt like a child again, and yes, he was only sixteen, but the war had made him grow up quickly. The refreshing feeling of the snow was enough to make him burst with happiness. And then there was the fact that he got to spend this rare moment of happiness with Hermione…

Draco scolded himself. He needed to stop thinking about her. The girl with the wild honey hair and the big chocolate eyes. The girl with the sparkling laugh and the enormous personality…

He closed his eyes.

This was absolutely hopeless! He did _not_ have feelings for Hermione Granger, and anyone who tried to tell him otherwise should be locked away in St. Mungos.

He was simply receptive to her kindness towards him. It had been so long that anyone other than his mother had been kind to him that it felt good to have her nearby. His own friends could hardly be called that. There was Pansy, who was only useful for a quick shag when he got the primal urge. There was Crabbe and Goyle; Draco had met rocks smarter. Blaise Zabini had always been there for him, but otherwise, that was it.

Hermione Granger was kind, intelligent and feisty when need be. She had matured from being the eleven year old girl with bushy mane for hair and horribly ugly bucked teeth. She was actually quite beautiful in Draco's opinion.

And she looked dazzling that night. He loved the way the snow looked in her hair and how her little nose turned red from the cold. He loved the way she shrieked with laughter as he chased her across the field and how they both screamed in delight like children on a playground.

He let out a groan.

He had to stop thinking about her before it killed him! But every time he closed his eyes, all he could imagine was when he was laying on top of her in the snow.

It felt good to be so close to her, he could feel the warmth radiating from her body. It felt kind of intimate, which is probably why they both blushed.

Even thinking about it now, Draco felt his face redden.

This had to stop; he _had_ to get some sleep! Draco pulled his sheet over his head as if it would somehow make a difference. He still could see visions of her in his mind…

"Drake!" Blaise called. Draco groaned.

"Drake! Get up! You're gonna miss breakfast!" Blaise called. Draco sat up quickly. It was, in fact, morning. He hadn't slept at all. "Do you want me to wait up for you?"

"No, you go ahead, I'm going to be awhile," Draco called.

"Okay, I'll save you a muffin in case you don't make it," Blaise called out before leaving the room.

Draco sat in bed for a moment longer. He pulled his sheets aside and went to get out of bed, but was greeted by a helpless case of morning arousal. He looked around quickly, realized the room was vacant, and quickly set to work on fixing the problem in his hand.

XXX

"What took you so long?" Pansy asked when Draco finally joined the Slytherins. There was only 10 minutes left of breakfast.

"I had a rough night," Draco spat out. He was honestly in no mood. He sat down next to the girl. Pansy placed her hand on his thigh and started to rub dangerous close to his crotch. She leaned over to his ear.

"Maybe you need to let off some steam," she hissed.

The combination of her touch and her hot breath was usually enough to get Draco going, but today he found himself annoyed with her attempts to seduce him.

"No Pansy, no," he said lowly. "That's not what I want." Pansy rubbed a little harder and moved her hand closer to his crotch.

"Are you sure?" she hissed again. _Damn, she knows me too well,_ he thought.

"Pansy, I'm serious. Take your hand off of me," he threated discretely. Pansy sighed. She reached up and gave him a good squeeze before putting her hand back on the table. _Great, now I have a hard on,_ he thought. He begged his face not to turn red.

"So what do you guys have planned today?" Pansy asked, attempting to rejoin the conversation.

"I have to finish my damn Potions essay!" Crabbe complained. Goyle nodded in agreement.

"Oh bloody hell," Draco muttered. "I forgot all about it."

Pansy let out a laugh. "Well this is going to be a great way to spend our Sunday."

XXX

The hallways were dead later that night. Draco had no problem slipping out of his dormitory and to their usual broom closet. He was extremely tired, the lack of sleep and the energy it took to write his whole Potions paper had left him exhausted. He turned the door knob and was greeted by a depressed looking Hermione.

"What's wrong, Granger?" he asked with no genuine concern, he was never one for too many emotions. And emotional girls were high on his list of things that annoyed him. He was so tired at the moment that everything was annoying him.

"Nothing is wrong," she said. He knew she was lying, but he really didn't care.

"Perfect, let's get started," he said rather coldly. He feel the need to comfort her. He drew his wand and placed it at her temple. "Remember, you need to focus on memories where you were scared."

Hermione closed her eyes tight. "Granger, you have to open your eyes!" Her eyes shot open. They were glassy and red. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you?"

Hermione shut her eyes again and a tear fell out. Draco didn't try to hide his annoyance and he ran his fingers threw his hair in a frustrated manner.

"Granger, what's wrong?" he asked with a bite in his voice. Hermione was shaking now. "Granger, talk to me." Hermione opened her mouth and her voice cracked.

"I—I—I don't think I can do this," she choked out. Draco sat in shock, Hermione Granger was admitting to failure.

"Well, why not?" he asked. Hermione shook her head.

"Some of these memories are so painful," she sobbed. "Having you look at them would only bring them back in full force. I don't think I can do it, Malfoy."

Draco softened in sympathy. He dropped his wand into his lap and reached for Hermione's hand. She was trembling slightly. "I'm sorry for yelling," he started. "I've have been having a really bad day and I shouldn't take it out on you. Now tell me what I can do to make this situation better."

Hermione looked up at him. "I just—I just want you to be gentle when you are in there. Some things may not seem scary to you, but they are scary to me."

"I promise to be gentle," he said. "Now are you ready?" Hermione gave him a nod. He picked up his wand and held it to her head.

"Legilimens!"

XXX

Draco was sucked into her mind a little bit more forcefully than he planned. He mentally apologized.

_Accepted, _she thought to him.

Draco rummaged through her mind until a memory became visible. He recognized her location; she was on the Hogwarts Express. Herself, the Weasel and Scarhead were in a compartment with a unknown, sleeping man.

They were having a conversation when suddenly the train stopped. The window began to frost over, and Draco immediately knew what was coming.

The shadowy figure was outside of the compartment door, he watched as Hermione froze in fear, it was rolling off of her in waves.

The Dementor opened the door slowly and Draco watched helplessly as Hermione's eyes turned as big as saucers. The Dementor went after Harry, though.

"Harry!" Hermione choked out as the Dementor sucked out his soul. With a quick movement, the sleeping stranger had his wand out and was casting the Patronus Charm. The man was none other than Professor Lupin.

Draco withdrew from this memory and looked for another. After some probing, another popped up in front of him.

Hermione was standing outside of a rather large tent, shaking. She started pacing a bit; her face was pale with worry. He could see she was conflicted about something.

It was then that Draco noticed the cheering coming from the distance. He thought hard before figuring out what memory he had stumbled into. He was at the first event of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. No wonder Hermione looked terrified. Nobody thought that Harry would be about to make it out of the competition alive, and the way Hermione was pacing, you could tell she had her doubts too.

He focused back on Hermione, who was still shaking. Suddenly, one of the dragons gave a mighty roar that echoed throughout the air. Hermione let out a whimper. He watched her as she noticed the shadow of a young boy approaching the edge of the tent.

She let out a hiss to catch his attention. The shadow moved closer.

She let out the hiss again. The shadow moved even closer.

"Harry?" she asked. "Is that you?" The fear was thick in her voice.

"Yeah," the shadow replied threw the tent. Hermione went to speak but choked on her word.

"H-how are you feeling?" she asked. She looked sick. "Okay?"

The shadow didn't answer.

"The key is to concentrate," she started, trying not to stutter. "After that you just have to-."

"Battle a dragon," the shadow confirmed.

They stood silently for a second before Hermione let out a loud whimper. With one quick movement, Hermione burst through the flap of the tent and was in Harry's arms.

Draco withdrew from her mind. He had to admit that he was slightly annoyed. He didn't like the idea of Hermione being in his arms.

"So was Potter your little boyfriend?" he asked with a smirk.

Hermione appeared shaken from having to relive a horrible memory. She blinked a few times before her look of sadness turned into a look of annoyance.

"You know very well that Harry and I have never dated. He is like a brother to me. Isn't it possible that I just feared for a friend's life?"

Draco's smirk grew wider. "Right, we all know it's the Weasel you are after."

Hermione's face turned red in embarrassment. "Ronald and I will never work out," she said while staring at the ground. A wave of selfish relieve washed over him.

"Well why not?" he asked out of curiosity. Hermione kept her head down.

"Over the summer I hinted at my feelings towards him, but he politely turned me down. He said I was just a sister to him and he didn't want to ruin our friendship," she admitted.

Draco sat there in shock. The Weasel was obviously dumber than he thought!

Hermione looked up at Draco.

"But at least I know, right?" she asked with a smile. Draco nodded. "There are other fish in the sea." Draco returned her a smile. "Should we try another memory or is that enough for today?"

"Just one more, can you handle it?" Draco asked. "I think I'm retaining the emotions, but at the same time I need something stronger." Hermione nodded.

"I have another memory, but its—controversial," she started. Draco cocked an eyebrow.

"And why is that?"

Hermione swallowed. "It involves certain people that—."

"What certain people?"

"Well, in particular, y-your father," she said. Draco closed his eyes in shame. "Malfoy, you don't have to see it if you don't want to."

"No, I can handle it," he claimed. He put his wand to her head. "Are you ready?"

Hermione nodded.

"Legilimens!"

XXX

He was in the Department of Mysteries. Immediately, a sick feeling overwhelmed him, he knew what was going to happen. He watched tentatively as Hermione and five others walked up and down the rows of orbs. She was accompanied by Harry, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna.

They found the prophecy. It had Harry's name on it.

_Don't pick it up,_ Draco thought.

Harry picked it up.

Suddenly black smoked filled the room. Within seconds twelve Death eaters surrounded the group of students. The leader of this trap was his father.

"Hand over that prophecy, Mr. Potter," his father demanded.

Draco's attention was focused on Hermione. Her breathing was heavy and she was trying to keep herself from shaking.

"NOW!" Harry called. Draco could feel Hermione's heart pounding.

"REDUCTO!" they all called as they cast the Reductor Curse.

The orbs and shelves in the room started to explode from their power, in particular, Ginny Weasley. The six students made a run down the aisle.

"Be gentle with Potter until we've got the prophecy, you can kill the others if necessary!" Draco heard Lucius call out.

One Death eater grabbed Harry's arm, but he was quickly stopped by Hermione's stunning curse. She, Harry and Neville ran down the aisle again and fled into the Time Chamber. The other three students were nowhere to be found.

One Death eater attempted the Killing Curse on Hermione, but he was stopped just in time by Harry. Hermione tried to gather her bearings after realizing how close she was to death. The three turned and ran into an office in the Time Chamber in order to escape.

When Hermione turned around, a Death Eater was right on her tail. She silenced him as he was about to call out their location.

Draco recognized the Death eater as Dolohov. He quickly fired an unnamed curse at Hermione, which hit her square in the chest. She screamed in pain before crumbling to the ground. The memory faded to black.

Draco pulled out of her mind quickly. They were both panting hard from exhaustion.

"You," he breathed. Hermione looked into his grey eyes. "You are all incredibly stupid." Hermione bowed her head slightly. "What happened—after that night? You got hit with a very dark curse."

"I woke up in the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey made me take ten potions a day to keep me alive," she said quietly.

Silence hung in the air for a few moments.

"It left a scar," she said in a whisper. "Would you like to see it?"

Draco shifted in his seat. "Are you sure you want to show it to me? I—I don't need—."

"You let me see yours, I will show you mine," she said. She gestured to his left arm. Draco tugged on his shirt sleeve to make it longer. "Do you want to see it?" Draco nodded. "I will warn you, it is rather ugly. I don't like to show it to people very often."

Her hands went up to her night shirt. It was a pink flannel, as it was getting chillier in the castle with each passing night. Her nimble fingers went to the top button and popped it open. They did the same for the second, third and fourth.

With a final sigh, she pushed the material out of the way. The faint pink scar traveled right along her breast bone. Draco could see that it went further down her shirt, but he knew she was trying to keep her modesty.

Draco knew he was impulsive, he often acting on these impulses, and today was no exception. He reached out his hand and touched it to her chest. Hermione let out a small gasp, but let him repeatedly trace his index finger over her scar. Her skin was soft and smooth, even the scar was smooth.

"You know," he started. "It's not as bad as you think it is." He flashed her a smile, hoping she would see what he was trying to say.

She smiled back.

"Incredibly stupid," he said. "But incredibly brave. Damn you, bloody Gryffindor."

She smiled bigger. Draco removed his hand.

"It's time we went to bed," she said. He knew she was right, but he didn't want to leave.

"Alright Granger, I'll see you next week same time."

"Oh Malfoy! Never week is Halloween!" she cried.

"Fine, Granger, I'll see you in two weeks," he said, trying to mask his disappointment. They emerged from the closet and parted ways.

_Damn, her skin feels soft,_ he thought as he walked back to his room.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello lovelies! Okay so here's the sitch, Hurricane Sandy is going to come and be a bitch, so if my power goes out, guess what? No chapter this weekend! If the power remains, guess what? YOU MIGHT GET TO CHAPTERS SINCE THEY CLOSED SCHOOL! So this could end really badly or wonderfully. *Crossing fingers* **

**Anyway here is the new chapter, I liked it at first, then I reread it and wasn't 100% satisfied, so I might change it... Who am I kidding, I'm too lazy to change it. :)**

**Okay, if you guys hate it, I'll rewrite it, fair? If you like it, LET ME KNOW :), reviews and my PM are always there to welcome you home.**

* * *

Draco sat quietly in Potions class the following week. It was Halloween day, so the whole school was buzzing about the usual Halloween Feast later that night.

Draco, however, sat thoroughly annoyed. He was longing to talk to Hermione, who was only a few tables away sitting between Harry and Ron. They never talked outside of their meetings in the tiny broom closet; they never even made eye contact in the hallways.

To the outside world, they appeared to be enemies as they always had been.

The other day, just for good measure, Draco bumped her rather hard in the hallway.

"Watch where you're going, Mudblood," he said in disgust. She played along.

"Oh shut it, Malfoy," she said while rolling her eyes. "You need to come up with better insults than that."

"Leave her alone, ferret boy," Ron called out and grabbed Hermione's arm to pull her away.

Now, Draco sat in class, completely ignoring all the instructions Professor Snape was writing on the blackboard. He never usually daydreamed in class, but today he did. He really couldn't take any more of the lack of communication between himself and the know-it-all Gryffindor girl.

He was snapped back to reality when he noticed a piece of folded parchment sitting on his textbook. He looked around. Everyone was shuffling about getting their ingredients and supplies.

He picked up the parchment and opened it slowly, so no one would notice. The handwriting was very pretty and neat, he knew exactly who it was from.

Malfoy,  
If you're not busy tonight, I was wondering if you would join me for some Halloween fun. I will warn you, it is Muggle, and if you feel uncomfortable with this, that is okay.

Kick your stool 3 times in a row for yes or drum you fingers on the desk for no.

Hermione

Draco sat still for a moment, his heart was pounding very hard in his chest. Of course he wanted to join her!

He looked around and noticed that Hermione was still gathering her supplies, which was something he still needed to do.

"Mr. Malfoy, is there a reason you are still sitting here with a dumb look on your face? I expect that from Longbottom, not you," Professor Snape said loudly. Draco knew that wherever Neville was in the room at the moment, he was probably blushing uncontrollably. He looked up at his professor.

"I'm sorry, Sir," he muttered before getting up and joining a few students in the store closet. Hermione was in there.

He approached her and stood at her right. He looked around before leaning his head down to her ear.

"Yes."

Hermione jumped, startled at his presence. She playfully hit his arm.

"You idiot," she whispered. "We can't talk here."

"Merlin, I just figured it would be easier than tapping and kicking," he whispered back.

"Hermione is he bothering you?" a voice called from the door. Draco turned his head. The voice belonged to Harry Potter of course. He smirked.

"Protective over your Mudblood, ay Potter?" he said suavely. Harry's face turned a deep red.

"Stop calling her that, Malfoy. She may be Muggle-born but she's a better witch than you are a wizard," Harry spat.

Draco put his hands up and quickly grabbed his ingredients before bumping into Hermione a little harder than he expected. The vial in her hand slipped and it shattered on the ground.

"Fifteen points from Gryffindor, Miss. Granger," Professor Snape called. "Maybe that will teach you to be less clumsy." Harry turned to the Potions Master.

"But sir! Malfoy pushed her! That's why she dropped the vial!" The rage in his eyes was burning.

"I saw no such thing happen, Mr. Potter. Twenty points from Gryffindor, learn to hold your tongue," the tall, dark man replied. Harry mumbled something before returning to his seat.

Draco felt slightly guilty. He felt bad for making Hermione lose points, but at the same time he loved seeing Potter erupt and then get his own set of points taken.

He started brewing the day's potion, but his attention quickly focused on something else.

What was the Muggle activity Hermione had planned? The last time he did something Muggle was when he received a detention for his Head of House last year. It had actually been his first time doing anything Muggle...

Another note was sitting on his textbook when he looked up from his potion. He opened it carefully.

Usually spot, 7pm.

Hermione

Draco tried to hide his smile.

XXX

Draco turned the doorknob of the tiny broom closet. As usual, Hermione was already inside. She gave him a warm smile. Merlin, he missed that smile.

"Okay, Granger, spill. What are we doing tonight exactly?" he asked impatiently.

"Would you please calm down? First of all, we are partaking in a Muggle tradition. Is that okay?" she asked.

"Granger, I told you already, I don't care about blood status anymore," he said with a smile. "Oh and I want to apologize. I hope you realize that calling you a Mudblood is completely an act so that people don't get suspicious." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I'm not daft you know," she said sarcastically.

"Now can you tell me what we are doing tonight? I actually can't stand the anticipation," Draco admitted. Hermione beamed at him.

"We are going trick or treating!" she cried. Draco sat confused.

"Trick or treating?" He felt kind of odd not knowing all of these Muggle terms.

"On Halloween night, kids go trick or treating around their neighborhoods in order to get candy. You dress up in a costume, ring people's door bells and say 'Trick or Treat' and they will give you candy!" she explained. "I used to love trick or treating and I haven't been in so long. Will you come with me?"

"But I haven't got a costume," Draco said. Hermione flashed him a smile and pulled out her wand.

"Since Muggles don't believe in wizards or witches, we can go in robes and carry our wands. But first let's make your robes more dramatic." With a flick of her wand, she transfigured his clothes into dark cloaks that would billow in the wind.

"I look like Professor Snape!" he yelped in protest.

Hermione ignored him and transfigured him a black Wizarding hat, similar to the one the students had to wear on the first and last days of school. She then transfigured her own clothes into something that looked like Professor McGonagall would wear, including the glasses and hat.

"Please tell me we are not going out like this," he practically begged. Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand. Draco jumped slightly at the contact.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"Wait, where are we—."

Before he could finish, Draco felt them being apparated.

XXX

Draco landed on his knees. He struggled to keep his dinner down. Hermione stood next to him looking as if nothing had happened.

They stood on a street corner in a small town. Draco stood up and brushed off his pants before looking around.

"Where are we?" he asked curiously. He noticed immediately how many children were out on the street.

"This is my town," she smiled at him. "Malfoy, welcome to Hayes!"

Draco looked around at his surroundings. It was a simple little town, it made sense that Hermione would be from there. The houses were small and modest; they all looked identical to each other. They were all white with blue shutters and blue trim around the windows. Children wandered the streets, holding flashlights and pillow cases.

"Are they trick or treating?" he asked.

"Yes, and we will be joining them but first we have to make a quick stop," she said and quickly grabbed his hand to pull him in the opposite direction. His heart fluttered.

They walked two blocks down before stopping in front of a house similar to the others. There were some children standing on the porch, they had just received candy from whoever owned the house.

"These candies are all sugar-free!" a particularly chubby boy dressed as a skeleton complained. Draco and Hermione continued to the tiny porch and rang the doorbell. A woman wearing a black shirt and a costume witch's hat opened the door.

"Happy Halloween!" the woman said cheerfully, a bowl in her hands. At first she looked down, excepting young children, but when she realized they were not school boys, she looked up at their faces. Her face twisted into a mix of happiness and overwhelming relief.

"Hermione! Oh my goodness, Hermione!" she yelled. She put the bowl down on the table and quickly pulled Hermione into a big hug. "Oh Hermione! What a wonderful surprise!" The woman was crying now. "Richard! Richard come quick! Hermione's home!"

A man appeared at the door. He wore thick glasses and had on a Wizarding hat. Hermione flung herself at the man, who was equally overjoyed as the woman.

"How's my darling girl doing?" he asked. She smiled at him.

"Just fine, Dad," she said. "Just hoping to survive another school year." Draco could tell she was only half joking.

It was then that Hermione turned to both of her parents. "Mum, Dad, there is someone I want you to meet." She turned to Draco. "This is…" She stopped.

Draco's heart sank.

He was suddenly pulled back to those horrible memories she carried with her.

"_Hermione, dear, what makes you think you are ugly?" her father asked. Hermione stared at the ground. Her mother cleared her throat. _

"_I think I know," she started. "It's that boy, isn't it? That awful boy, Draco Malfoy." Hermione nodded her head. _

"_That same boy you punched earlier this year?" her father asked. Hermione smiled and nodded. "He is still giving you trouble?"_

"_Yes. He calls me ugly. He says I have big teeth and that I will never get a boyfriend," she said sadly. Her father turned red. _

"_I'm going to that school! I will not have my child bullied! She finally finds a place she belongs only to have it torture her as well! Not on my watch!" he yelled. Hermione went frantic. _

"_No! Please! You will only make it worse! He will hate me forever if he gets in trouble because I tattled!" Hermione cried. Her father calmed down. "I can handle him, I swear to you. I punched him before, I can do it again."_

To her parents, he was "that awful boy, Draco Malfoy".

Draco suddenly realized that Hermione obviously hadn't thought this plan threw.

"This is…" she started again before stopping.

"Draco Malfoy," her mother muttered in disbelief. He watched as Hermione's mother tensed and touched Hermione's shoulder.

"Yes, this is Draco Malfoy," Hermione confirmed uneasily.

Draco felt sick.

Hermione's father scratched his head. "I don't mean to be, rude, but isn't this the same Draco Malfoy from school?"

"Yes, this is the same boy," Hermione said. Her father's face turned red.

Draco felt his stomach summersault.

"Well, in all my years, I never imagined that you would bring Draco Malfoy home," her mother tried to joke. Both Hermione and Draco's eyes widened. Her father still appeared angry.

"Oh, no Mother, we aren't _together_, we are just friends," she explained. Draco flashed a smile.

_Oh Merlin, if her parents know about me being a Death eater, I might as well just die._

"And what brought about this sudden _friendship_?" her father questioned. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Both Draco and I are being examined to be Heads next year, and the school simply wants to make sure that we will not kill each other. Surprisingly, we have gotten along well," she lied.

_So she hasn't told them anything,_ he thought.

_Well obviously, if they knew about the night in the hallway, the volunteering, and the lying to the Dark Lord, her parents would have already killed me._

The group stood awkwardly for a few moments.

"Well come in! Come in!" her mother said and waved them into the house. "I have apple cider and fresh pumpkin pie!"

Hermione led the way, and Draco followed closely at her heels. Her parents lingered in the foyer and he knew that they were talking about him.

The pair entered the small dining room, where a pie sat on the table with two pieces missing. The cider was on the table as well.

"Have a seat, Malfoy," she said, pointing to a chair. He sat down while flashing her a nervous smile. Her parents entered the room and sat down at the table.

"So what brings you two to Hayes?" her mother asked. She poured them both some cider and served them pie.

"Well, Malfoy had never been trick or treating before so we decided to leave school for the evening," she explained. Her father, who had been sipping on his cider, nearly choked.

"So you just left the school?" he questioned after regaining his composure.

"It's only for a few hours, Dad; no one will notice that we were gone," she reasoned. Draco's attention was transfixed on the glass of cider; he was too nervous to say a word.

"But isn't it rather dangerous to be out with all the talk of _Death eaters_ roaming around," her father probed. Draco choked.

Hermione shot her father a glare. "We are perfectly safe. I am no longer being traced by the Ministry, and so long as Malfoy refrains from using magic we will be undetected." Her father slyly picked up him glass and put it to him mouth.

"Is his wand in your possession?" he asked mockingly. Hermione slammed her glass on the table and stood up quickly.

"What _exactly_ are you insinuating?" she demanded. The room remained silent. "Malfoy, let's go, we are leaving." Hermione dashed out of the room, her mother quickly following.

Before he could do the same, Draco's arm was being held by the firm grip of Mr. Richard Granger.

"_Sit."_

XXX

"Hermione, darling, don't be angry with your father, he's only concerned for your safety," her mother called.

"He didn't have to be rude to him!" she fumed. Her mother put a hand on her shoulder.

"How did you expect him to react? It was only a few years ago that you told us you hated this pale, blonde boy named Draco Malfoy. Then one day, out of the blue, you bring him home as if you have been friends for life," she explained. "You used to cry on my shoulder and send me distressed letters every time this boy so much as looked at you the wrong way."

"What if I told you that he changed?" Hermione reasoned. "He's even gone as far as apologize for all those horrible names he would call me."

"Hermione, I believe you are a good judge of character, and I will trust that maybe this boy has changed. But please, don't be surprised if he reverts right back to his ways. We know his father is a Death eater. He could be trying to gain your trust, especially since a war is brewing," her mother said seriously.

"I am aware of that, Mum. And should he betray my trust, I will waste no time in obliviating the poor boy until he can't remember his own name let alone mine," she said. Her mother nodded.

"Hermione?" she asked. "You aren't—dating him—right?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"We may be friends, but nothing he can ever say will make me want to be with him."

XXX

"I am only going to ask you this once, so try to pay attention," he said sarcastically. "What do you want?"

Draco swallowed hard.

"There is nothing I want, sir. Absolutely nothing."

"Do you think this is funny?" her father asked. "Because if this ends up being some kind of joke, or you hurt her—."

"I would never hurt her," Draco said quickly. "Let me correct that. I would never hurt her again. I know I hurt her when we were young, but I swear on my mother's life that I will never do it again."

"Your father is a Death eater," he pointed out.

"Just because you are a dentist doesn't mean Granger is a dentist," Draco replied. "You raised her to only eat sugar-free candies, but the girl eats more chocolate frogs than I can. I was raised to hate Muggle-borns, but Granger is the greatest friend I've ever had."

Her father stepped back for a second. Draco wished that he didn't appear to be so flustered.

"You are a quick thinker," he said.

"Second in my class, to Granger," Draco admitted.

"Was sneaking out of school our idea?" he asked.

"No, it was Granger's, she wanted to take me trick or treating," Draco replied.

"Why do you call her Granger?"

Draco paused. "That's just how it has always been."

With that, her father left the room. Draco stood up, his legs were shaking, but he followed him to the door.

"We may be friends, but nothing he can ever say will make me want to be with him," he heard Hermione say.

XXX

After an awkward goodbye, where Hermione hugged both her parents and Draco merely nodded, the two headed down the street. Even though it was later, even more children were out on the streets.

Hermione had grabbed bags from her parents' house before leaving, and the two went out on their trick or treating adventures.

After a solid hour of door to door begging, they had collected a large amount of candy between them.

"Are you ready to go back?" she asked.

"Whenever you're ready," he said with a smile. Hermione returned the smile and put her hand out for him to grab. As soon as he touched it, they were apparated back into the tiny closet.

"Malfoy," she started. "I'm sorry for tonight; it wasn't a good idea for me to bring you there without giving them a heads up."

"Don't be sorry, they have every right to act the way they did," he reassured her.

Hermione grinned sadly and put her hand on his. "We will meet here next week, okay?"

"Sounds good. Granger?"

"Yes?"

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Of course I do."


	7. Update

Update: Friday November 2, 2012

Dear Faithful Followers,

Sandy was a bitch.

My house has been out of power since Monday night, no heat or lights but thankfully running waters. It is only because I am standing outside of Starbucks that I am able to write to you.

I have been charging my iPod in my truck, where I have outlined and partially written future chapters of this story. (See, I love you guys.) But until we get power restored, please do not expect a new chapter to be uploaded within the next ten days. I kid you not when I say that I might not have power for the next ten days. The damage is so great that my school district has been completely shut down as of this past Monday and won't reopen until this coming Monday at the EARLIEST. I hate this...

It is about 30° outside at the moment, and because I am broke, I can't go inside and get a table. This is where I bid my farewell.

Until next time and under happier circumstances,

hobbseyb


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hi everyone! Guess who's power has returned? That's right, mine! Thank you to all of you who sent me encouraging messages, that was so sweet of all of you. Before this chapter begins, I just want to clear something up. I hope you all realize that I wasn't looking for sympathy by posting my "Update". I did receive one very nasty PM saying that I was looking for attention :(The "Update" was just for you guys in case you were wondering why no chapter had posted that weekend. I know a lot of people have it much worse than I had it this past week, people lost their lives in Sandy, and now I feel kind of bad for complaining about the cold and the lack of power. And I am writing this as an apology if anyone felt offended or felt that I was complaining too much.**

**Also, a while ago I had somebody send a PM and they had the nerve to make fun of my dyslexia :( I tried not to take it to heart, but words hurt sometimes.**

**My PM is always open. I always love to hear if you want something changed or explained. Review if you want, there is no sense in trying to make you review, but if you do, I love you.**

* * *

Draco was running late, as usual.

The lack of sleep this past week was actually killing him. He couldn't pinpoint what was wrong, but he knew it was killing him. At breakfast he would eat very little and he spoke to no one. In class he would struggle to stay awake, most of the time he would fail miserably and would lose house points. At lunch he would continue to stare at his plate, willing the food to go away.

By the time dinner would roll around, he would nibble on some mashed potatoes and drink water. His homework was piling up in almost all of his classes and now he was just accepting zeros on essays and projects. At night he would lay awake, praying to whatever being above that it would allow him just a few hours of sleep.

But every night was the same. He stared at his ceiling until the sun rose the next morning. Then he would get up, bags under his eyes, and start the cycle all over again.

He was starting to crack.

Draco opened the door of the broom closet. Hermione was sitting in her usual spot, only today something was different. Actually, everything was different.

Hermione had a plate of food in front of her. Hidden behind her back, he could see two pillows and two blankets.

"Granger, what are you doing?" he asked annoyed. Hermione looked up at him.

"Just because we can't talk outside of these lessons doesn't mean I haven't noticed what is going on," she said with worry laced in her voice.

"What are you talking about?"

"You have barely eaten in the last 5 days, Malfoy. You don't hand in your assignments, you haven't been sleeping—."

"How do you know that?" he spat.

"You look horrible! Do you even sleep?" she shrieked.

Draco looked at his hands.

"Please, Malfoy, I'm worried about you. You need to eat and you need to sleep. It's Saturday morning, no classes tomorrow, so it wouldn't matter that you sleep here."

Draco looked at the plate of food.

"Where did you get that? It's two o'clock in the morning," he asked.

"The kitchen. The House Elves didn't mind and they have promised not to mention my visit to Dumbledore. Please eat it," she begged.

Draco picked up the fork. He knew he had to eat, with her brown eyes begging, and his stomach begging, he knew he had been defeated.

He scooped up some peas and ate them. Hermione smiled.

It didn't take him very long to finish the meal, and suddenly he was very grateful that she had brought it for him. Hermione vanished the remaining plate and fork back to the kitchen.

"So why haven't you been sleeping?" she asked. Draco shook his head.

"I don't know, I just can't do it. I've tried everything and it just won't happen," he explained. He was just so tired. He felt his voice cracking from the stress.

"Do you want to try to sleep?" Hermione asked. Draco nodded his head like a child. Hermione pulled out the pillows and the blankets. She moved to the corner of the closet and put a pillow behind her back. Then she wrapped a blanket around herself. "Come here, Malfoy," she said gently.

Draco moved toward her. She helped him maneuver into a laying position and she placed his head in her lap. She reached down and pulled his slippers off. Then she placed a blanket on his curled up form.

_How odd, _he thought,_ who ever thought that I would feel most comfortable curled up in a broom closet?_

"You don't want to lay down?" he asked sleepily, his eyelid already starting to sag.

"You and I both know that this closet is not big enough for the both of us," she said. "And besides, this is about you getting a goodnight sleep."

Her words were just a blur, a fog in his mind. Sleep was almost taking him over, and Hermione was softly running her nimble fingers threw his blonde hair.

Just as he was about to fall into the realm of dreams, he felt her pant an innocent kiss on his cheek.

And then, he went numb.

XXX

Draco's eyes fluttered open.

He was staring at a wall. _Where am I?_

He moved his hands to his eyes and rubbed them a few times before letting out a yawn. He started to stretch out his cramped legs but his feet quickly hit a wall.

_Oh that's right, I'm in a closet with Granger,_ he thought. Even though he had slept in a closet, he felt as though he has slept in the most comfortable bed in the whole Wizarding World.

Draco turned his head and looked up at Hermione. Her hand was still in his hair, the realization making his heart beat faster. She was awake and staring at him sweetly.

Draco flashed her a smile, which she returned weakly before her eyes focused on something else rather than his face. His eyes followed her gaze.

His pants were tenting and sporting a rather large morning erection.

He quickly rolled over to try to hide what was already noticed, and he ended up hitting his head rather hard on the wall of the closet. Draco moaned in embarrassment and pain.

"Oh! Malfoy! Are you okay?" she asked.

"I—I'm sorry," he stuttered. His hand was on his head where he hit it. "That happens sometimes—it—it doesn't mean anything." He wasn't facing her and he couldn't tell what she was doing.

"It's perfectly fine," she said awkwardly. "How did you sleep?"

Draco looked quickly at his groin and realized the erection was gone. Then he turned toward her and answered. "Very well actually, how about you?"

"Just fine, just in need of a good stretch," she replied. He noticed that she glanced at his groin for a quick second.

"I should go…" he thought out loud. Draco sat up and reached for his slippers. "Same time, next week?" Hermione nodded.

Draco opened the door and stepped out of the closet. Just before shutting it, he turned his head to look at her.

"Thank you, Granger."

XXX

That morning at breakfast, Draco walked into the Great Hall in a good mood. He walked over to the Slytherin table with the suave confidence he usually had.

"Damn, Drake," Pansy said. "I haven't seen you like this in a long time."

"Yeah, what happened to you? Did you bed some poor girl?" Blaise joked. Pansy glared at him.

"No, I did not, I merely got some sleep," Draco said. "Now if you don't mind, I would like to eat."

"Wow! Now he's even eating! Ladies and gentleman, Draco Malfoy is eating," Blaise mocked. Draco shoved him with his elbow. Then he loaded his plate with more food than he had ever eaten before.

He glanced over at the Gryffindor table and noticed that Hermione was trying very hard to hide that she was watching him. When their eyes met, she flashed him a very quickly smile and looked back down at her plate. When she looked up again, Draco returned the grin.

XXX

Draco was running late, as usual.

He ran to the broom closet and opened it. Hermione was inside, of course, waiting patiently for him to arrive.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Pansy almost caught me sneaking out. She has been on my case lately and I can't shake her," he explained before sitting down.

"Ron has been on my case too," Hermione said. Draco's face twisted slightly.

"Please don't tell me you still have a thing for him."

Hermione's face turned red.

"No, I do not like Ronald." Draco's stomach flipped. "We need to get started. What are we working on today?"

Draco sat quietly for a few moments.

"Pain."

"What do you mean by pain?" Hermione asked. Draco let out a sigh.

"In the memory, it has to seem like I hurt you," he explained. "Death eaters are dark and sadistic, they like to make people hurt. It has to look like I'm hurting you." Hermione nodded. "We will go slowly, if it's too much to handle, just let me know and I'll pull out of your mind." Again, she nodded. "And I want to try something. I want to see if I can do the spell wandlessly and wordlessly. It will be tough, but it may be useful."

"Just be careful, okay?" Hermione said.

"I will try. I'm going to try just wandlessly first. Are you ready?" Hermione nodded. He put his hand up.

"Legilimens."

The power blasted out from his hand. It sent them both opposite each other and into the wall of the tiny closet.

Draco's back went flying into the wall and he moaned in pain. The force from the spell knocked the air right out of their lungs. When they caught their breath they moved back to their spots.

"I'm sorry," he said. "That was absolutely horrible."

"Just try again," Hermione encouraged. Draco put his hand up.

"Legilimens."

Again, they went flying back harshly. The wind was knock from them and they both hit their heads on the wall. They crawled back to their spots.

"Maybe this isn't a good idea after all," he said.

"Just one more time," Hermione said. "Make it forceful, direct it right at my head." He put his hand up.

"Legilimens."

They went flying back again, this time Draco was sure he would vomit from the blow.

"Come on, Draco! Try harder!" Hermione yelled. She was already in her spot, waiting for him to crawl back. He got up and inched toward the center.

"Legilimens."

Again they flew back, this time they both yelped from the pain in their backs. Draco winced and opened his eyes. Hermione was already in her spot.

"You aren't even trying," she mumbled. The annoyance was clear on her face.

"I am trying my best," he said threw gritted teeth. Hermione turned red.

"Well, your best isn't good enough," she huffed. "Keep trying." Draco crawled back to his spot.

"Legilimens," he croaked, almost in a whisper. The forced threw them back again; Draco hit his head hard on the wall.

"Come on, Malfoy!" Hermione yelled. "Focus!"

"Legilimens!" he yelled before she could move toward the center.

The power hit them again in the chest. They both cried out in pain.

"This isn't working!" he yelled.

"KEEP! TRYING!" Hermione demanded.

"Legilimens!"

They were thrown back again. Draco roared in frustration.

"LEGILIMENS!"

XXX

He stumbled into her mind with great force. He felt dizzy and disoriented.

Hermione presented him with a memory immediately. It was blurry at first, but then it slowly became visible. Hermione was sitting in the girls' bathroom crying.

"Hermione," a voice called. It was the Weasley girl. "Are you alright?" Hermione wiped her face.

"I'm just in pain, that's all," she said. She was clutching her stomach.

"We can go see Madame Pomfrey if you want," Ginny said.

Hermione cried out as a wave of pain rushed threw her body. Draco shuttered when he felt it. Ginny dropped to her knees to rub her back. Hermione wiped her eyes again.

"The pain will pass, it always does."

"But you have a Potions essay to finish and you never will if this continues," Ginny pointed out. Hermione cried out again.

Draco realized what was going on now: female problems.

"Okay, let's go see Madame Pomfrey," Hermione complied. With the help of Ginny, Hermione stood on thin, shaky legs.

Draco pulled out of her mind.

"Malfoy! You did it!"

Draco felt her arms go around his neck. He shuttered at the sudden contact.

"I can't believe you did it! You got it so quickly! You just need to work on entering smoother," Hermione praised. She was beaming at him.

"I—I can't believe I actually did it," he said breathlessly. "Can I try again?"

"Sure! Merlin, this is exciting!"

They sat in the center of the closet again, facing each other. Draco put his hand up.

"Legilimens!" he said firmly.

XXX

He stumbled into her mind, but a lot smoother than last time. Draco quickly straightened himself and entered a passing by memory.

He felt a nudge keeping him out. He pressed forward. He felt a stronger push backwards.

_Why won't she let me in?_

He pushed harder. She resisted. He pushed again and her wall crumbled.

Draco saw the memory forming in front of him. It was visible now. Hermione sat in the corner of the tiny broom closet and he was passed out in her lap.

Her hands were still in his hair, even though he appeared to be asleep for a while. She was being so gentle, that Draco ached at the sight of her touching him.

Then her hands moved to his face. Her soft fingers were rubbing circles on his pale cheeks. Draco shivered. He wished he could remember her touch, her feel.

Her thumb rubbed over his lips once, then twice. He could feel himself burning from the inside out. Hermione then bent over slightly, bringing her face close to his. Draco's heart jumped.

_Please do it,_ he thought. _Please, please do it._

The burning inside of him was making him crazy, but he had to see it. His hand went to his lips. Maybe if he saw it, he could remember the feeling.

_Please, please._

Suddenly, he was expelled out of her mind.

He was sitting in the tiny broom closet, panting and gasping for air. Hermione sat opposite him.

Hermione.

"You-I-we," he choked. Draco could feel himself turning 50 shades of Gryffindor red. "Did you kiss me?" Hermione sat quietly, but he could tell she was fuming. "You didn't even let me see!"

Hermione lunged at him. In the blink of an eye she was inches away from him. _Oh Merlin, she's going to—._

Hermione slapped him. The kind of slap that made the inside of your mouth bleed. When he looked up after the initial shock, she was right back opposite him.

"It wasn't for you to see."

"Wasn't for me to see? It was about me! I think I have a right to know if you kissed me," Draco countered. Hermione turned red with anger.

"Fine! You want to know? I DIDN'T kiss you. Do you want to know why, Malfoy? Because you are a lowlife Death eater," she spat.

"If I'm such a lowlife, then why were you about to kiss me?" He was furious now.

"Out of pity!" she shrieked. "You had been walking around like a zombie all week and I felt bad for you."

Draco sat quietly now.

"And here I thought we were actually friends," he finally muttered. With that he got up and left the tiny broom closet.


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: This chapter turned out unusually short for some reason... Hmmmmm... Now I feel bad for posting it... Maybe I can make it up to you?**

**Review and PM me if you wish, I love you all. **

* * *

Draco knew he was a stubborn person; he was a Malfoy after all. He also knew that Hermione Granger was as equally stubborn. So it was no surprise when she completely ignored him at breakfast on Saturday morning. The girl never looked up from her plate. When she was finished eating, she quickly excused herself from the table and left the room.

At lunch she did the same, this time she read her Potions textbook, no doubt looking at next week's lesson. Her gaze never drifted toward the Slytherin table. Once she finished her meal, she retreated from the room.

At dinnertime he caught her watching him. A pang of hope filled his heart. He picked up his fork and ate his peas. When he looked up again, she was focused on the conversation between the Weasel and Potter. _Damn it! She was just watching to see if I was eating,_ he thought. _She can't be mad at me forever; she obviously still cares, right?_

On Sunday she did the same, she pretended to be interested in the conversation at her table. Monday was no different.

She was completely ignoring his existence. In class she would only look up from her papers to answer a question, her head returning to a bowing position after.

By Tuesday, Draco was growing tired of these petty games. He figured that if one of them had to be the bigger person, then let it be him.

During potions he scribbled a note and placed it in her textbook when she went for her ingredients. He watched nervously as she returned and noticed the parchment.

Hermione took out her wand and lit it on fire.

XXX

He knew how to get her attention now.

It was Friday and she still wouldn't so much as glare at him in class. On numerous occasions he bumped her in the hallway or he would call her a mudblood just to get a reaction. The bushy haired Gryffindor girl would just keep walking as if nothing had happened.

Now he sat in the Great Hall for breakfast, only he wasn't planning on eating. He kept his face stoic and his eyes glassy. His uniform was slightly wrinkled and his hair was not in its usual perfect part. His fork was in his hand, but he made no move to put food on it.

Draco felt eyes burning into his head. He looked up. Hermione was staring at him. He put the fork down and shoved his plate away. He could still feel her staring.

"Drake, are you okay?" Pansy asked, placing her one hand on his shoulder while the other played with his messy hair.

"Pansy," he started, "get off of me." Pansy retreated. Draco put his head down on the cool table. He could still feel her staring. He got up from the table in a rush and left the room.

_She's worried._

XXX

Draco rushed into the boys' bathroom when Potions ended. He had ten minutes before Charms started, which was more time than he needed.

He went into a stall and slammed the door, he was quite cranky. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a green apple. _This is crazy, all of this just to get Granger's attention?_

He ate the apple quickly, barely chewing, and left the bathroom for Charms. Hermione was already in the room, of course, and Draco took his usual seat. He put up his façade again and bowed his head slightly as the lesson began.

Throughout the whole lesson he could feel Hermione's eyes on him.

XXX

"Pansy, I told you already, I'm not hungry," he barked.

"Draco, please. Why won't you eat?" she begged. Her voice was grinding on his last nerve.

"I'm not hungry," he spat.

"You can tell me anything, Drake," she said. "Anything at all!" She whispered in his ear now. "I know you are under a lot of pressure from your father and the Dar—."

Draco pounded his fist on the table. Pansy shut up. Hermione was staring again, he could feel it. He looked up at her and caught her eye. They were filled with guilt. He glared at her.

XXX

Hermione sat in DADA and chewed at her lip. She was completely ignoring the lesson being given by the first year teacher, Professor Carter. She was intently thinking about the Draco situation. He hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch. _He's not eating again,_ she panicked. _He needs me and I am giving him the cold shoulder, I'm such a fool!_

The guilt was eating her up inside. He was risking his life for her; he was going to lie to the Dark Lord just to make sure she was safe.

_I have to see him,_ she thought. Hermione thought for a second on how to communicate with him. The idea popped in her head. _Please, please._

She stared at him. _Please, please, please!_

He twitched a little. _Look at me!_

He shivered slightly. _I know he can feel it!_

Draco's head suddenly snapped in her direction. He stared back. Hermione opened her eyes as wide as she could, hoping to convey the message. He squinted. _He's trying to do it wordlessly!_

Hermione felt a nudge. _Come in._ He nudged harder. _Come in. _

Draco broke the contact, clearly struggling to enter her mind. He panted slightly and shivered. Then he turned back to her. She opened her eyes.

His face was turning red.

"Mr. Malfoy, is everything alright back there?" Professor Carter asked.

"Yes, Professor, just a bit hot in here," he said. The teacher nodded and turned back to the blackboard. He turned back to Hermione. _Come in._ He nudged.

_Come in._ He pushed.

_Come in._ He entered.

_Granger?_ he thought.

_Malfoy?_

_What do you want? _ She could feel him glaring at her.

_I'm worried about you, _she admitted.

_Why?_

_You haven't been eating! _

_I don't want to talk about this right now. _

_Later then. Please._ He stayed silent. _Please, Malfoy. _

_Fine. You know where, you know when._ He pulled out of her mind.

XXX

She had a feeling that he wouldn't show.

Hermione sat in the tiny broom closet. She had been sitting there for over an hour. The plate of food in front of her had long gone cold and she had used a warming charm on it twice. Her heart beat quickly. Draco really wasn't coming. She probably deserved it though, right? She had given him the Silent Treatment for the past week.

The doorknob turned.

"I know I'm late," he said. Hermione let out a sigh of relief. "I've been on the run from Filch for the past hour. The man is _everywhere_." He sat down in his usual spot. Hermione shoved the plate of food in front of him.

"Eat it," she demanded. He didn't object, he actually looked relieve. Hermione's eyes lit up in realization.

"Now don't be mad," he started. Draco could already see that she was putting two and two together. She was the brightest witch of her age after all. "I had to get your attention somehow."

"Please don't do that again," she said crossly.

"So I sacrificed a few meals, I'm alive, right?" he said jokingly. She stared at him. His face went serious. "Listen, I need to apologize. I invaded your privacy and broke a silent trust we had. For that, I am sorry," he said genuinely. Hermione let out a sigh.

"I am sorry too. I lashed out at you and ignored you for a week. I acted immature and for that I am sorry," she said sincerely. Draco smiled at her and stuck out his hand. "What are you doing?"

"We apologized, now we shake hands."

"Excuse me?" Hermione said confused.

"We apologized and now we shake hands, don't you do this in your house?" Draco asked.

"Um—Malfoy, I don't know how you settle disagreements in your household, but in the Granger house we have to hug," she smirked. Hermione opened her arms. Awkwardly, Draco put his arms around her waist and hugged her. He hadn't been hugged like this since his mother said goodbye to him at Platform 9¾ when he was a first year.

"Granger," he said. The hug broke off. Hermione looked at him. "I think it's done."

"Really?"

"I think so, I just need a second op—."

"Can I see it?" she asked. Draco stared at her.

"No."

"Why not? I know it's not real and I—."

"Granger. No, you can't see it. I won't let you." He tried to keep himself from getting frustrated with her. Hermione stared at him. "Granger, I invented this memory, I should know that it's fabricated. But if feels so real sometimes at I wake up at night because I feel like I actually hurt you." Hermione sat quietly. "I'm a Death Eater in there, Granger. I'm not gentle, I'm not your friend and I have to be kind of perverted. You can't see it."

Hermione nodded.

"Who will you show it to then?" Draco let out a sigh.

"With your permission, I want to show it to Professor Snape," he said. "I can understand if you don't want him to see it."

"If Tom Riddle is going to see it, it has to be perfect. Show it to Snape," she said.


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Two chapters, one weekend! So I've been listening to Christmas music all day and I thought "Let's give them two chapters instead of just one!" So here I am, sitting at my desk, neglecting homework like I usually do :)**

**The story is going almost exactly as planned, hopefully it keeps moving and gets to the chapter idea that started it all. Reminder, this story is going to go to a much darker place. Draco still has to go home for the holiday and present the memory to Voldemort. *Cue dramatic music* *DUN DUN DUUUUUN***

* * *

Draco knocked on Professor Snape's door.

"Enter."

He swiftly entered and stood in front of the potion master's desk. The pale man with raven hair was slaughtering a third year's paper. His red pen moved furiously against the parchment. Draco couldn't help but feel bad for the student who had written the paper.

"What is your reason for coming here, Mr. Malfoy?" Draco suddenly realized that the man was no longer writing.

"I was wondering if you wanted to view the memory and tell me if it is any good," he explained. Snape narrowed his eyes.

"And what makes you think that I would want to see a 'memory' of you raping Miss. Granger?" he drawled. Draco turned red.

"No, sir. I didn't mean it like that. I simply wish for you to view the memory and tell me if I stand a chance against the Dark Lord," he corrected. Snape's eyes narrowed even more.

"Very well." Snape stared into Draco's pale grey eyes and entered his mind smoothly.

Draco let the fabricated memory come forward in his mind. He was quite proud of its construction, he was almost sure there were no cracks in it. It was a shame that his hard work was giving him nightmares.

The memory started with Hermione in the library. That wasn't hard to fabricate since the girl was always in the library. Draco was watching her pack up her books to head back to her Common room. As she left, he stalked after her, a weird gleam in his eye.

The hallways were empty and dark, the perfect scenario. When Hermione turned a corner absentmindedly she bumped hard into Draco.

"Malfoy," she said shortly. He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Granger," he smirked. "Funny running into you, all alone."

"Leave me alone, ferret," she said. She tried to push passed him but he blocked her.

"Where do you have to go in such a hurry, Granger? Do you have somewhere to be? Someone to see?"

"Malfoy, just do the world a favor and go back to your dungeons and die," she spat. The comment sounded remarkably like something Professor Snape himself would say.

"You know, Granger, I never realized how—_pretty_ you are," he said suavely. The smirk he gave her was enough to make the devil run. She rolled her eyes.

"Malfoy, aren't you the same boy who calls me a dirty Mudblood?" Draco cocked an eyebrow.

"Well that is what you are. Your blood is absolutely filthy. But I never said a Mudblood couldn't be beautiful." He winked at her. Hermione glared at him.

"You are disgusting, Malfoy. Leave me alone," she demanded. He started backing her up into the wall.

"No, I don't think I will." His eyes were clouded.

"Look, Malfoy, I don't know what you're up to, but if you don't stop I'm going to hex you into next month," she threatened.

"Oh, feisty Granger," he winked at her. "It's kind of hot when you get all worked up."

At that moment, Hermione pulled out her wand. "Expelliarmus!" Hermione's wand flew out of her hand and down the corridor. Hermione had panic in her eyes. "What's the matter, Granger?"

"You can do wandless magic?" she squeaked. Draco smirked again.

"I'm full of surprises." He was suddenly very close to her. His chest was touching hers and his mouth was just centimeters away from hers. His erection was pressed against her navel. Her breathing was coming in pants now.

"It'll feel good, I promise," he assured her.

"Malfoy, please. You don't want to do this." His hand went to her hair.

"Oh, but I do," he breathed. "Don't worry, you'll enjoy it."

She went to screamed. He casted a Silencing charm and a Disillusionment. "Wouldn't want anyone to walk in and ruin the mood, right?"

XXX

Draco felt Professor Snape pull out of his mind.

"Professor, it wasn't done yet. I—."

"I am aware of that, Mr. Malfoy," the Professor said impatiently. "Much unlike Mr. Longbottom, I am not an idiot." Draco couldn't help but smirk.

"But will it work?" he asked. "Was it good enough?" Snape stood now and walked to the other side of the room, his hands clasped behind his back. He checked a potion and stirred it.

"Professor?"

The dark man checked another potion, stirred it and added some kind of powder.

"Professor?"

"If you show the memory to the Dark Lord as it is, you will be killed and tortured," the man said with no emotion in his voice.

"What?" Draco asked confused.

"Do you need me to repeat myself, Mr. Malfoy?" Snape said sarcastically. Draco flopped into a chair. All his hard work…

"What's wrong with it?" he asked.

"I think you know what it is missing. I will save you the embarrassment of saying it out loud," he drawled again. Draco turned red. He knew exactly what it was missing.

"And if I get that missing piece will it work, Professor?"

The man looked into his eyes. "If you get the missing piece I am confident that you will not be killed or tortured."

Draco sighed in relief. "Thank you, Professor."

"Don't thank me yet," the man smirked. "You have a better chance of getting hit by a nargle than you do getting what you need."

XXX

This was the first time that Draco beat Hermione to the tiny broom closet, and it was only because he got there 30 minutes early. He had spoken to Snape a few days ago and even with all of that time to think about the situation he was in, he was still at war with himself.

_This is a bad idea,_ he thought._ She is going to hate me; she's going to think I want this. _

_But you do want it, _his mind argued.

_Shut up! Not like this. I don't want her like this. I feel like I'm forcing myself on her. _

_Don't worry about that, it will feel good._

_I know it will feel good, but I will feel guilty. _

The closet door opened. Hermione jumped.

"Oh! Malfoy!" she shrieked. "You scared me. You never beat me here." Draco smiled weakly. Hermione sat down in her usual spot.

"I spoke to Snape," his voice cracked. _Damn it, stay cool!_

"Oh no," she said. "It's not going to work is it? And after all the work we—."

"Granger, listen to me," Draco said. His tried to keep his hands from shaking. "It's going to work. Professor Snape said that there was something missing from it, though."

"Well what is it? We can put it in and we will be fine," she said.

"It's not that easy. This isn't me going into your mind and using your feelings," he said. Hermione looked in his eyes.

"Malfoy, what is it?"

"Snape thinks that it is a critical piece of the memory and that without it he will figure out that I am lying to him. If we don't do this, he will kill me," he explained.

"What do we have to do?" Hermione's mind was racing, she had a suspicion but she didn't want it say it out loud.

Draco turned red. His face was burning, he felt like a fourth year. Something clicked in Hermione's brain because she turned red as well. "I see."

"It's not entirely what you are thinking," he rushed. "We don't have to—do it—but we have to—well you have to arouse me." He shut his eyes quickly.

"So that the Dark Lord will feel your emotions in the memory?" Draco nodded, still keeping his eyes closed.

"Granger, I'm sorry. I volunteered for this to keep you from having to be subjected to men forcing themselves on you and now I am doing exactly that," he said quickly.

"There is no sense in apologizing, Malfoy. You've done nothing wrong. This couldn't be helped and last I checked snogging you will definitely be better than being Rodolphus's toy." Draco smirked. They sat awkwardly. "We should probably get it over with."

"Yeah," he agreed. Neither one moved.

"Well, go on," Hermione said. Draco fidgeted. Hermione cracked her knuckles. Draco ran his fingers threw his platinum hair. Hermione chewed her lip.

"I can't," he moaned. Hermione half-glared at him.

"Am I _that_ unattractive, Malfoy?" she teased.

"Are you sure you are okay with this?" he asked.

"If it saves our lives, then yes," she replied. Draco smiled at her. He moved a little bit closer to her. Slowly, he brought his hands up to her face, his thumbs rubbing her cheeks softly. He looked at her pink lips and thought desperately how he wanted to know how they tasted.

His pale grey eyes locked onto her chocolate ones and he leaned in slowly. His lips caught hers gently. Fire burned in the pit of his stomach as soon as they connected. Her lips were so soft.

Hermione Granger was nothing like Pansy. Hermione was gentle and soft. She was innocent and pure. Draco was so attracted to her that it hurt.

He nipped at her bottom lip and he was rewarded with a soft moan from her. He felt himself burning. His tongue slid over her lip. She parted her lips for him. His tongue ventured into her mouth, behind her teeth. They were both moaning now, Draco had to keep his hands from wandering.

They parted, much to Draco's dismay. "Why did you stop?" he asked.

"How do you feel?" she asked. His face burned.

"F-fine. How do you feel?" _Oh Merlin._

"Don't worry about me, okay? Do you feel, you know, aroused?" she asked. Draco was sure he looked like a tomato. _What's wrong with me?_

"Um—I think so," he said. His mind was completely clouded. He was surprised he could create coherent sentences.

"Should we do it again?" she asked. Draco eyes opened wide.

"Yes!" he squeaked. "Once more should do it," he said with a swallow. He just had to kiss her again.

Hermione sat in front of him, waiting. Draco leaned forward again. He crushed his lips on hers, the fire coursing throughout his body this time. He could feel it in his finger and in his toes and in his hair. He wasn't to melt.

He kissed her harder, his hand went to the back of her head and he played with her brown hair. She followed suit and her hands went around his neck. She parted her mouth first this time. He poked his tongue in and played with hers. They were both moaning, the vibration sending them both crazy.

Draco felt Hermione move one of her hands from around his neck. It wasn't until he felt it touch his groin that he really cared where her hand was.

He nearly jumped out of his skin.

"W-what are you doing, Granger?" he panted. Hermione blushed.

"I'm sorry, I'll stop if you want," she said. Draco shook his head.

"No, you don't have to stop, it—feels good," he admitted. Before she could say anything he leaned toward and kissed her again.

He felt her hand on his crotch. She moaned when she felt the bulge under his pants. She rubbed him lightly. Draco felt the pleasure rippling everywhere. He tried to keep himself from grinding into her hand. _Merlin, I feel like a fourth year. _

He knew he could finish right then and there. Hermione Granger had managed to drive him crazy with need without even removing any of his clothes. His cock was aching and throbbing.

Draco panicked when he felt her fiddling with his zipper. His hand swatted her away. "Granger, no, that's not a good idea," he said.

Hermione's hair was more tousled than usual and her lips were plump from his kisses. "Why not?"

"Trust me, I am aroused, you don't need to do anything else. If we continue—I'm going to want to finish, if you know what I mean." Hermione blushed again. She returned to her usual spot and fiddled with her hair.

"Is that all we needed?" she asked.

"Yes, that should do it." He closed his eyes. "I just need to rerun the memory a few times with these—thoughts and we should be all good."

Suddenly, Hermione hugged him. Draco didn't question it, he just held her close to him.

"I can't believe we did it! We are actually going to trick the Dark Lord!" she said happily. She released him from the hug and held his hands. "Malfoy, I can never thank you enough for all of this. You are more than likely saving my life." Draco smiled.

"And thank you, Granger," he said. Hermione looked at him in confusion.

"Thank you for trusting me, rather than slapping me like you did in third year," he joked. Hermione blushed.

"Well you right deserved it." Draco laughed. "I better get to bed, see you next week?"

"Yes, see you next week," he confirmed. Hermione got up and left the tiny closet.

Once she was gone Draco added another Silencing Charm to the space. He didn't leave until the pinned up stress erupted from his still hard cock.


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: Zero fucks were given about this chapter... I kid you not. No proof reading, no editing, its literally raw. If a lot of people complain about mistakes I'll fix it, but I have zero motivation today. Sorry guys :(**

* * *

_"Malfoy, please. You don't want to do this." His hand went to her hair.__"Oh, but I do," he breathed. "Don't worry, you'll enjoy it."__She went to screamed. He casted a Silencing charm and a Disillusionment. "Wouldn't want anyone to walk in and ruin the mood, right?"_

Draco bolted upright.

His body was drenched in a cold sweat and his breathing was labored. His hands were in tight fists, his knuckles white and nail marks in his palms.

"It was just a dream," he said out loud. "Just a dream." He ran his stiff fingers threw his hair, which was embarrassingly damp. He ran is hands over his face and forced himself out of bed. The floor was cool against his warm feet. It was then that he realized that he was burning up.

He slipped into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. He peeled his night shirt off and splashed the cold water on his face. His arms and legs were shaking.

"It's not real," he sobbed as tears ran down from his pale eyes.

XXX

Professor Snape pulled out of his mind smoothly. Draco stood rigid, his hands made fists as he waited for his godfather to give an answer. Snape turned and walked towards his desk. He picked up his quill, dipped it in red ink and resumed grading papers.

"Professor?"

"Congratulations, Mr. Malfoy. Your hard work has paid off and I admit that I am impressed with what I saw in your mind. Are you sure it is fabricated?" Snape smirked. Draco turned red.

"It is fake, Professor." The dark man nodded. "Sir is it normal to—think that it is real?" Snape put the quill down.

"Are you having trouble sleeping?" he asked.

"Some nights, yes. I wake up drenched in sweat and trembling like a first year! Even though I know that the memory is fake, sometimes it seems real. Like I actually harmed her in some way," Draco said. His hand was running threw his hair, a habit that he noticed he did way too often. "I think I've gone completely soft!" He was pacing now.

"Can you imagine what would have happened if I actually had to _do it_? I would be an absolute mess! How do you do it?" The blonde boy stopped pacing, waiting for an answer. Snape stood.

"Draco, this is a time of war and sacrifices must be made. I will not lie, with every passing year the guilt inside of me grows exponentially. With every Revel I must remind myself that the Muggle is not dying in vain, fore exposing my identity to save them would mean losing our only spy for the Order.

When Christmas comes and the Dark Lord has his annual Revel, I hope that you are able to remember your position. It will be painful, but you _must _play your part. Did you know I was a spy until I allowed it to be revealed to you?" Draco shook his head. "My true emotions get locked away and I do as the Dark Lord wishes with hopes that we will one day have a brighter future."

"But what if I am asked to rape or torture? What if I am asked to kill?" Draco said with his eyes closed.

"It must be done," Snape drawled. "Since you are so young and your father has greatly _disappointed_ the Dark Lord, he will most likely be testing you. If you prove to him that you are unable to stomach the Death Eater lifestyle, you will most likely be killed." _Geez, Uncle Severus never beats around the bush. _Draco cringed.

"Is there any way to feel less guilty after the deed has been done?" he asked. Snape's eyes narrowed.

"Feeling the guilt means that you are not one of _them_. Sometimes the guilt is the only thing to keep you sane."

XXX

_Dear Son, _

_Your father and I are extremely worried about you as you have not written us any letters since mid-October. With December finally beginning I urge you to keep your focus on the task at hand. It will not be long until you are home with us and the Dark Lord and we want very much for you to please him. _

_My darling boy, how much you have grown. Just sixteen years ago Dobby was changing your little diapers! Now you are a strong, strapping young man; the spitting image of your father when he was your age. Remember that I am always proud of you, your father is as well, but he just hides his affections. _

_Write your lonely mother, Draco. _

_Narcissa_

Draco scowled. It was official, his mother was an idiot. He knew that the woman loved him, but he also knew that her primary concern was pleasing the maniac living in their home. _Can these people really be my parents?_ Of course they were. As his mother had written, he was the spitting image of his revolting father.

Draco picked up his quill and reached for a new piece of parchment. She may be delusional, but he still couldn't stand the fact that she was lonely.

_Mother, _

_I apologize for neglecting both you and father for the past month. Between classes and a certain task I find myself with little time to myself. _

_I assure you that I will restore the Malfoy name to its former glory; the Dark Lord will not be disappointed with what I bring him._

_I cannot wait for Christmas; I miss home and need to get away from all of these Mudbloods. I send you my love,_

_Draco_

It was more than likely that the letter would be read by someone other than his mother, so he kept it as vague as possible. He brought it to the owlery and sent it to his home.

XXX

Draco woke up on Friday morning to the sound of an owl. He sat up slowly and saw the bird perched on his window sill, patiently waiting for him to take the letter from it.

He stood and trekked over to the window. As soon as the letter was in his hand he felt uneasy. Once it was opened he was nauseas. He knew whose handwriting this was.

He read the few sentences on the paper and struggled to keep the bile from his stomach from spewing from his mouth.

XXX

"Miss. Granger, will you please stay behind for one moment?" Professor Snape called as the seventh years rushed out of the class on Friday morning.

"Certainly, Professor," she said respectfully. Ron and Harry went to stay with her, but she shooed them away. The duo looked at each other before leaving the classroom together. When the last student left the room Snape warded the door. Hermione grew uneasy.

"Miss. Granger, when asked what I wanted from you, since the Dunderheads will most likely ask, you will state that I was merely questioning what book you citied in your most recent essay, is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Hermione said.

"The real reason is that I have been asked to deliver a message to you by a certain blonde Slytherin," He drawled. "He said that you are to meet his at the usual spot at the usual time, do you understand what he is telling you?" _He wants to see me tomorrow night? Why?_

"Yes, Professor," Hermione nodded. "Thank you for delivering the message." Snape gave her a curt nod and she dismissed herself from the room. The boys were waiting at the end of the hall.

"What did the old bat want?" Ron asked curiously. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"His name is Professor Snape, Ronald, show some respect," she huffed

XXX

Hermione opened the tiny broom closet door. Draco sat there, his eyes glassy and bags under his eyes. A single piece of parchment was held in his hands.

"Malfoy! Merlin! What's wrong?" she yelped. Draco looked up at her with sad eyes. He held out the paper. Hermione took her seat and started to read.

_Son, _

_Under the request of the Dark Lord, you will be leaving Hogwarts a bit earlier than usual for the holiday. Professor Snape has been given instructions to Apparate you home on the 10__th__ of December. _

_Do not worry about the rest of the term; your Godfather will be taking care of all the details to make sure you are home without having any problems. _

_Lucius_

Hermione looked up at Draco. His eyes were closed.

"Do you think I am a coward?" he asked, his eyes never twitching.

"Why would I think that you are a coward?" Hermione asked.

"Because I am absolutely terrified." Draco suddenly felt her arms around his body. He melted under her touch.

"You are anything but a coward, Draco Malfoy. You are a git, an arsehole, and an absolute prat," she joked. He couldn't help but smirk. "But you are definitely not a coward." She released him from her hold.

"What if I mess it up? What if he figures it out?"

"You can't think like that, be confident that you can do it," she encouraged. "What did Snape say?"

"He was impressed." Hermione flashed him a smile.

"You leave in two days," she stated while fidgeting with her hands and chewing on her lip. Draco sighed. "I'm probably going to die with worry," she joked again.

"I can't owl you, it's too dangerous," he sighed again. "So this is most likely the last time I will see you until next term." He could see the gears in Hermione's mind turning. "Okay, Granger, spit it out."

Hermione smile widely. "I have an idea."

"Care to share it?"

"The DA coins!" she shouted.

"DA coins?" he repeated. Hermione nodded.

"Its how Dumbledore's Army communicated last year! It's genius! Nobody will know you have it! Then we can communicate whenever you are alone!" The girl was ecstatic.

"How do I get one?"

"I'll bring you one, of course!"

XXX

"Maybe this was a bad idea," Hermione speculated. "You are going to be exhausted tomorrow." Draco rubbed the sleepy look off of his eyes.

"I'll be fine, do you have the coin?" he asked. Hermione reached into her pocket and pulled out the little gold coin and placed it in his hand. "It looks like a Galleon," he stated flatly. Hermione nodded.

"Exactly. No one will ever be the wiser," she beamed.

"How does it work?"

"It's quite simple actually. When you want to message someone just hold you coin in hand," she demonstrated on her own coin. "Then you point your wand at the coin and think of the message you want to convey." She did so and Draco watched intensely. The coin in his hand got very warm. "To read the message just look at the coin."

Draco stared at the coin in his hand. **What do you think?** He pointed his wand at the coin and thought of his response.

The coin in Hermione's hand warmed. **Genius!** "Only you can read the coin and feel when it warms, so don't worry if you accidently lose it." Draco put the coin in his pocket.

"Thank you," he smiled. Hermione smiled back at him. "So how will you spend your holiday?"

"I'm going to stay at Hogwarts this year," Hermione said sadly. Draco cocked an eyebrow. "Dumbledore said it wasn't safe for me to go back to Muggle London and if I left I would put my parents in danger."

"I'm sorry," he said. Hermione shrugged.

"We all have to make sacrifices. Oh! I almost forgot! And please don't object, but I got you a Christmas present," she blushed. Draco's eyes went wide. Hermione pulled a small box from out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Now don't open it yet! Save it for Christmas!"

Draco smiled devilishly at her. "I know what you're thinking, but it won't work. I put a charm on it to keep it from opening until after midnight Christmas morning." Draco's smile fell.

"You _are_ a clever witch, aren't you?"

"You're just now figuring that out?" Hermione said smugly. Draco put the box in his pocket.

"Thank you, for whatever it is. But, I have a gift for you as well," he admitted. Hermione's eyes went wide as he pulled a box out of his pocket. "And if I have to wait until Christmas, so do you. But there are no fancy charms on it to keep you out." He handed it to her.

"I promise to wait until Christmas," she said and put it in her pocket. They sat quietly for a moment. Hermione moved forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. He returned the contact by wrapping his arms around her waist. "How do you feel?" Her voice was serious.

"Nervous mostly. I probably won't sleep very well tonight," he admitted. She hugged his tighter. The smell of her cinnamon shampoo went up his nose and made him drowsy. He closed his eyes.

"You will be fine, I trust you and believe in you completely," she said.

"Thank you," he said quietly. He felt so tired.

"For what?"

"For trusting me to begin with," he mumbled before drifting off.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: 29 days 3 hours 22 minutes until Christmas... That is all I have to say :)**

* * *

Hermione woke up to a burning in her hand. She sat up quickly and rather ungracefully before looking around. She was in the tiny broom closet, alone. The burning in her hand intensified. She opened her palm. The Galleon sat in her palm.

"Malfoy," she said. She concentrated on the coin and the message appeared. **Look out of the window.**

Hermione scurried out of the closet and stood at the nearest window. It faced the courtyard perfectly and standing there in the break of dawn was the Slytherin boy that was risking his life for her. He was dressed in his usual well-tailored black jacket and matching slacks. The black turtle neck he wore made his skin look flawlessly white.

Although they were far apart, their eyes locked. Slowly, Hermione raised her hand and waved. Draco smirked in response. Hermione quickly sent him a message. **Please be safe.**

She watched as he pulled the coin from his pants pocket and checked the message. Before he could respond, Professor Snape entered the courtyard. Draco put the coin away quickly and followed his godfather as they made their way to the forest to apparate.

XXX

"Why does he want me home early?" Draco asked as they walked. Professor Snape never looked back.

"I can imagine that either he is getting impatient or he is looking for someone to punish. There is no doubt that the Dark Lord is expecting you to fail the task he has given you," he said. Draco listened but all the while he kept looking back at the window that was growing tinier as they continued walking.

"When will you be joining us at the Manor?" Draco asked. His godfather was walking relatively quickly and he almost had to jog to keep up.

"As soon as term is over. Only Dumbledore knows where I will be over holiday, the other teachers are under the impression that I am going home," he explain. But Draco's attention wasn't on Snape's words. His eyes were still continuously looking back at the window.

Once in the forest Professor Snape turned. "Why do you keep looking back?" he demanded.

Draco froze.

"Draco, wartime is not the time to form a relationship," the older man said seriously. Draco blushed.

"I don't have a relationship," he said. The man looked at him suspiciously.

"Yet you look back at the school every 20 seconds with a love-struck look in your eye," he observed. The blood drained from Draco's already pale face. The Potions Master smirked. "Minerva owes me 10 Galleons."

"We aren't together," Draco said quickly.

"But you want to be," the man concluded. Draco stood silently. "You need to clear your mind of these feelings while you are home, you don't want anyone finding out about this and using it against you." Draco nodded and let his Occlumency shields go up.

"Test me," he said. His godfather looked him in the eye. Draco felt nothing.

"Your mind is well guarded," he said. "I advise that you keep these walls up when you are around anyone, even your own mother." Draco nodded. "I will be at the Manor as soon as term ends but until then you are on your own. Are you ready?" The man put his hand out.

Draco didn't hesitate as he grabbed his hand.

XXX

"Draco!" his mother called. The woman stood on the staircase in the foyer dressed in her usual green and black robes. Her pale eyes shined when they saw her only child.

Draco's heart swelled when he saw her. He dashed up the stairs like he had always done as a child and hugged his mother close. He was considerably taller than her, but he leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"Hello Mother," he said. He kissed her on the cheek.

"Oh how I've missed you," the pale woman admitted. Draco had to keep from shaking. The woman may have been brainwashed by dark magic and power, but there was no doubt that she loved him. "We've got lots to talk about, Darling. I had the house elves prepare a big breakfast for the two of us." He smiled at her.

Even though he didn't want to ask, he knew he had to. "Where is father?" He almost gagged. Narcissa sighed.

"You know your father, always out and about," she forced a smile. The woman looked passed her son. "Severus, will you join us for breakfast?" Draco had completely forgotten he was there.

"No thank you, Cissa. I must get back to Hogwarts before classes start," Snape said.

"Very well then, thank you for bring me my darling boy," she said. She took Draco's hand and brought him to the dining room. The house elves had really outdone themselves. There was enough food to feed all of Slytherin house.

"Where is everyone?" Draco asked. Narcissa looked around.

"The other members of your father's political circle only come to the house when they are called by the Dark Lord," she explained. "And most days the Dark Lord stays in his wing of the house with Bella and some other people. People really just come in and out as they please."

"So what do you do all day?" Draco asked.

"I—I just read, or walk around the grounds or read," she said. Draco felt his heart breaking. His poor mother. She walked over to the window. "I wish it would snow, Draco," she said. "Then you and I could play like we used to. And I know you are a man now but it would be so much fu—."

"Mother, of course we would have fun. I'm home early and we will do whatever you want, okay?" he assured her. She nodded.

"Come, let's eat."

XXX

Draco sat on his bed that night. The Galleon was in his hand. He held his wand to it and sent a message. **No sign of Father or the Dark Lord.**

Draco sat staring at the coin. After a few minutes it got warm. He looked at the message. **Just stay calm.** He knew she was right, he could feel his nerves on end at all times. His hand felt warm again. **Are you okay?**

Impulsively, he wrote a message back. **I miss you. **No, he couldn't be doing this to her. It was too dangerous to admit feelings now. He waited for a response.

_She obviously doesn't return your feelings, so stop trying. She could never like me anyway, I'm Draco Malfoy, the boy that tortured her and called her nam—._

**I miss you too. **

Draco's heart jumped into his throat. So there was hope.

He suddenly remembered that he had to hide his feelings while he was at the Manor. He couldn't have all of these feelings in his head. He sent a message back. **Get some sleep Granger.**

Hermione replied almost immediately. **Good night Malfoy.**

XXX

As soon as she saw him apparate with Professor Snape she started worrying. If someone would have asked her two months ago if she cared about the life of Draco Malfoy she would have most likely laughed in their face. But now all she could think about was the blonde Slytherin that had stolen a place in her heart.

She had kissed him that night in the tiny broom closet.

Maybe it was because he opened up when he was around her. Maybe it was because he was risking his life for her. Maybe it was because he looked so pitiful from stress. Maybe it was because she was attracted to him. She didn't know why she kissed him, but it felt right.

But now wasn't the time for a relationship. First of all, Harry and Ron would more than likely kill him if they ever found out how close they actually were. Second because they were in the middle of a war. Neither one of them needed emotions in the mix while fighting an evil madman.

But when Hermione received the message from Draco claiming that he missed her, she wanted nothing more than to be with him and tell him exactly how she felt.

_What if he just meant he was lonely? It doesn't necessarily mean he likes me; he could just enjoy my company. _

No matter how he felt, Hermione could feel herself falling in love with the boy that had always been her enemy.

XXX

Draco sat in his bedroom the next morning and tried to hide the fact that he was very pale. His mother had told him at breakfast that his father wished to see him in Draco's room once the meal was over. Draco had eaten, but just enough to keep his mother from questioning.

_Your shields need to go up,_ he thought. He took a deep breath. There was a knock at his door.

"Come in," he said coolly. His father entered. Lucius's hair was the same color as his own, but was longer than his mother's. His father did not look well, the bags under his eyes indicated that the man rarely slept. "Hello Father."

"Son," the older man said with a nod. He took a seat in one of the chairs by the window and Draco followed suit. "I trust that you attempted to please the Dark Lord to the best of your abilities?" Draco nodded. "He is going to be angry that you failed your task but perha—."

Draco sneered in anger at the realization. "Father, you think of me as a fragile little boy still. I can assure you that the Dark Lord will be most pleased with me when I tell him that I have taken the innocence of Potter's Mudblood slut."

His father stared at him in disbelief. "How?" Draco nearly rolled his eyes.

"The name Malfoy used to have power and strength behind it. Just because you seemed to be deficient in these qualities does not mean that I am as well," he jabbed. His father stared daggers at him. "I know what this meeting was about. You were convinced that I would fail and this was to ease the inevitable death that would follow if I went before the Dark Lord empty handed." Draco stood now and walked toward the door.

"I'm fairly certain that you have convinced Mother that I was to die as well. Don't you think you have caused the women enough pain in her lifetime?" Draco opened the door. "Remove yourself from the room Lucius. And come back when you have more faith in your son."

Draco did not have to repeat himself; his father stood and left the room without another word.

XXX

"Draco, I am mossst pleasssed," the serpentine man drawled after pulling out of the young man's mind. Draco was kneeling before the Dark Lord, surrounding them both in the form of a circle stood a ring of Death eaters.

"Breaking the Mudblood now brings us closer to bringing down Potter once and for all," he continued. Voldemort began to walk around the room. "Let us hope that Draco's blood has not been tainted by her filth." Chuckles filled the room and Draco smirked.

"You may stand, Draco." Draco did as he commanded. "As a reward for your loyalty I invite you to join us for our annual Revel on Christmas Eve." Draco kept his face stoic.

"Thank you, My Lord. I am most honored."

XXX

Twelve days.

He had twelve days. Twelve days until he would have to kill for the sake of the greater good. Even knowing this, it still didn't make him feel any better.

Draco wasn't a fool. He knew what happened at the Revels. Horrible things capable of bringing a grown man to tears occurred. He also knew the Dark Lord was notorious for offing the weaker members that couldn't stomach the rapes, tortures and deaths. At least the Dark Lord wouldn't have any other Death eater meetings until Christmas Eve.

So he had twelve days.

He had to speak to Hermione; it was the only thing that would keep him sane. **Granger?**

No reply came. **Granger, are you there?**

Still no answer. _Can this get any worse?_

* * *

**A/N: Next Chapter is all about Draco's time in Malfoy Manor leading up to Christmas Eve. No Dramione action :(**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I'm ALIVE! A thousand apologies for my disappearance! My life has become an absolute mess in the past two weeks! And I literally felt guilty putting this off for as long as I have. Oh God, I'm such a horrible person. **

**Read and review. Be warned, no proofreading was done on this chapter, because I'm a rebel. Okay, so for my Christmas present, everyone review! WEEEEEE! Love you all!**

* * *

Draco sat quietly at the dining room table. Once again, it was only himself and his mother present for breakfast. He didn't mind it though; having his father there would only sour his mood. The man repelled him in every way possible.

Currently, he could feel his mother's eyes on him. He looked up and sure enough she was watching him with a glassy expression.

"Mother, I can see you thinking something, what is the matter?" he asked calmly despite his slight annoyance. He vowed never to raise his voice at the woman; she got enough of that sort of treatment from his father.

"Your father has asked me to relay a message to you of the utmost importance," she started.

"Yes, go on with it."

"For reasons unknown to me, your father demands that you stay away from the dungeons at all costs. Now these orders come straight from the Dark Lord. Only the select few are allowed down there and your father says that anyone who disobeys these orders is to be killed on sight," Narcissa said. "Draco, please do not go near the dungeons. Promise Mummy, okay?"

Draco stared at her. He had no intentions of going into the dungeons, but now he was curious. "You have my word, but what is down there?" His mother fidgeted a bit. She looked quite nervous.

"Some sort of secret weapon," she whispered. "It will be Potter's undoing. That is all I know."

Draco nodded slowly.

XXX

**Granger, why won't you answer me?**

Draco was beginning to worry. It had been days since he last heard from the Gryffindor girl. Term had ended, so she couldn't possibly have any more homework to complete.

_Damn that girl! Something must be wrong with these coins!_

He knocked a pile of books off of his night table in frustration. He had to get out of the Manor before he went crazy!

He reached for something else to knock over. The closest thing to him was the small wrapped Christmas present from Hermione. He pulled his hand away quickly and flopped onto his king sized bed. Perhaps he just needed some sleep.

He sat up again. One more try couldn't hurt.

**Granger, you need to answer me. There is something in MM that DL is using against HP.**

He stayed up for hours waiting for a response. But as the sun rose over the treetops, Hermione Granger still had not replied.

XXX

Draco woke up to the smell of something cooking downstairs.

"Pancakes…" he said groggily. Then his eyes shot open. Faster than ever before, Draco jumped out of bed and pulled on his robe and slippers before taking the steps three at a time to get to the dining room.

His mother and the house elves had already decorated earlier that week, so the hall was a festive red and green. And there on the dining room table, sat his mother and her traditional Christmas Eve Pancakes.

"Well, it's about time you woke up, Sleeping Beauty," she joked. "Happy Christmas Eve, Darling." He gave her a ginger kiss on her cheek.

"Happy Christmas Eve, Mother," he said while taking his seat. The best part about coming home for holiday was definitely his mother's pancakes. It was the only time of year she ever made the food herself. He picked up his fork and dove into the stack in front of him.

He rolled his eyes to the back of his head and made a rather sexual noise, to which his mother smacked him playfully on the shoulder.

"That's very rude, Draco, where are your table manners?" she demanded. Draco looked around.

"But it's only us," he commented with his mouth stuffed with food.

"Draco," she said in a warning tone. He smirked at her. "So what are your plans for the day, Darling?" He swallowed.

"I really don't have any plans to be honest. What about you?"

"I'll just go read in the library or something, perhaps go to Diagon Alley and get last minute things," she said. Draco grinned devilishly.

"What did you get me, Mother?" he asked. She hit him again.

"Now you know very well that I cannot and will not tell you what you are getting for Christmas. You will just have to wait until tomorrow. You really are a naughty boy, you know that?"

XXX

An hour later, the house elves had cleared the breakfast dishes and Draco was in his room once again trying to contact that bloody girl that was constantly on his mind.

**Granger, answer ASAP.**

**To ease my own mind, I am going to assume that your coin is broken. **

**Something bad has happened. **

Draco concluded in his mind that she _had_ to be okay. If she was hurt or missing, he would have heard it by now. Either his coin or hers just wasn't working properly. That was all.

Draco put the coin in his pocket and stood at the window. It was snowing. The sight was absolutely breath taking. It was just like all of those other times when he was a boy and he would go outside with his…

Draco ran to the library. Sure enough, his mother sat by the fireplace reading some book while she drank a cup of tea. She looked up at him.

"Draco, what is the matter?" she asked with great concern.

"It's snowing, Mother. Just like old times. Do you—do you want to go outside and play in the snow?" He felt like a child. She looked at him with pure happiness.

"Go get your coat and hat, love," she said as she stood. Draco smiled and ran to his room and searched for his fur hat, coat and boots. He put them on quickly and was surprised to see that his mother was already in the foyer waiting. She opened the door of the Manor and the chilly air instantly turned both of their noses pink.

He ran outside first, running in circles like a complete lunatic. His mother followed suit, only she was trying to catch the falling, frozen flakes on her tongue.

Draco then stood with his arms outstretched. He tilted his head back and let his body fall.

"Draco! Do be careful!" she called, but Draco ignored her. He started moving his arms and leg. "Draco, what are you doing?"

"I'm making a snow angel," he said.

"A what?"

"Snow angel. Here, help me up please," he held out his hand. She pulled him to his feet. "Look, it looks like an angel." Sure enough, the imprint looked like a white angel.

"Oh Draco! That is absolutely brilliant!" Suddenly, she held out her arms and fell back into the soft snow. "Now I move my arms like this and my legs like this?" He nodded.

Narcissa laughed heartily at the ridiculous movements she was making. "Help me up now," she said with her arm outstretched.

Once Draco got her to her feet, she looked at her work. The two snow angels looked almost picturesque. She let out a sigh.

"Mother, I think it's time for you to build Fort Draco," he smirked.

"Draco! You are much too big for me to be going that! You're too tall!" she argued. Draco pouted.

"But Mother, you are breaking tradition!" he argued back. She didn't answer. Draco plopped on the ground in front of her. "Please? For your little boy?" Narcissa rolled her eyes.

Fort Draco was the highlight of snowy days. When Draco was a little boy, he would sit nicely on the ground and his mother would build a sort of pathetic igloo around him. When she finished her task, she would count down from ten and Draco would jump from the center of the igloo and destroy it.

This had happened since Draco was a little boy, but over the past few years he had grown considerably. He had been taller than his mother since 4th year.

"Alright, just this once!" she laughed and knelt down to start packing the snow. Draco sat motionless. "Aren't you going to help your Mother?"

"Nope!" he said with a laugh.

Narcissa worked diligently and soon only Draco's head was visible. He started to fidget. "Mother, do hurry. I'm losing feeling in my feet and the cold is making this absolutely dreadful!"

"You're the one who wanted this done! Now sit still before the entire thing collapses before I'm finished!" she laughed. Draco pouted again. "Now stop that, that is very unattractive. Now stop distracting me, I'm almost done."

Draco closed his eyes for a moment. He felt himself melting into his memories. When he opened his eyes again. He was looking at his mother, only she was slightly younger.

"_Draco, darling, sit still for mummy, okay?" _

"_Yes mum," he said in a tiny, squeaky voice. _

"_It's time to make Fort Draco!"_

"_Fort Draco!" he yelled with excitement. He looked around quickly. "Wait, where is Father?" _

_His mother looked at him sadly. "Daddy has work to do at the Ministry, love. It's just you and me," she tried to smile. _

"_But Father has only build Fort Draco once, he is missing all of the fun," Draco claimed. _

"_You're right, darling, Daddy misses all of the fun."_

Draco opened his eyes. He was surrounded by the snow his mother had built up. "Is it time for Draco to come out of the Fort?" his mother said in a sing-song voice. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" Draco jumped up and all of the snow exploded around them.

XXX

Their snow adventures ended once they had built their 4th snowman. The cold had finally gotten to both of them; their pale skin was now an unhealthy shade of red. As they stepped through the front door, they were greeted by the one person Draco did not want to see.

"Is something wrong, Lucius?" Narcissa asked with concern. Draco glared at his father.

"Nothing of your concern, Narcissa. I just wish to remind Draco that tonight is Christmas Eve and the Dark Lord wishes for him to take part in the annual Revel," he said with annoyance. Narcissa looked away sheepishly.

"There is no need to speak to her like she's an idiot," Draco said shortly. "She is your wife and my mother, the least you can do is show her some damn respect." Lucius glowered at his only son.

"Be ready at 7. Uncle Severus will collect you." He walked away. Draco turned to his mother, hardly realizing that his face was white as snow and his hands were shaking.

"Thank you for a wonderful day, Mother," he said gently, his heart beating quickly. He kissed her on the cheek. "I must rest for a while before tonight." He started to walk away but he felt her hand on his wrist. "What's wrong?"

Narcissa leaned very close to his ear. "I never wanted this for you," she barely whispered. Draco looked her in the eyes and could see that she was telling the truth.

XXX

Draco stood in his bathroom leaning heavily on the sink. He was scared, very scared. But he had to get ready.

With a shaking hand he reached for his hairbrush and pulled it threw his platinum locks. He brushed his teeth and washed his face. Once in his room, he pulled a suit jacket over his usual black turtleneck. He sat on the bed and pulled on his shoes.

Then he waited.

He twirled his thumbs with hopes that it would calm him. It didn't.

He cracked his knuckles. He rolled his neck. Merlin, this was going to kill him.

Then something caught his eye. Hermione's present still sat on his nightstand. He picked it up. _What is in this tiny box? What could it possibly be?_

There was a knock at his door. Draco hid the box under his pillow.

"Come in," he said. Professor Snape opened the door. "Are we ready?"

"Just one moment, Draco," Snape said. "I want to remind you of what we talked about a while ago. About the greater good and sacrifices."

"Yes, I know, Uncle Severus," Draco said quickly. "People, Muggles, are going to die tonight. They will be tortured. And I _must_ take part in it. I won't enjoy it, but I will do it."

"There is one other thing Draco," Snape warned. "When I was a little older than you, I joined up. At my first Revel I was told to kill a Muggle. Not just any Muggle. I knew the boy; he lived on the street that I grew up on. The Dark Lord may test you by asking you to do something horrible to someone you recognize." Draco swallowed.

"You mean the other kids from school?" he asked.

"Exactly."

"Would he do that?"

Snape walked to the window. "Just remember what you are fighting for, Draco. That's all I ask of you."

Suddenly, both men doubled over in pain. Draco grabbed his left forearm in agony. Snape straightened himself up quickly. "Its time."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: 14 days, 7 hours, 1 minute, 01 seconds. **

**Thank you for the lovely reviews! Do it again! Do it again! **

* * *

Welcome, my friends," the serpentine man greeted. He stood in the center of a large circle of Death Eaters. From this group of people, one of them was merely sixteen years old.

And he was ready.

Draco stood in his Death Eater robes and mask. To his right was his father, he could see the long platinum hair cascading down his back. To his left was Professor Snape, whom he had walked in with. As the Dark Lord spoke, Draco closed his eyes and made sure for a final time that his walls were up and his mind was guarded.

"Tonight, I have a variety of treats for you." The Dark Lord walked toward his throne at the edge of the circle. "I hope you all enjoy. Bring in the first round," he called. Draco opened his eyes.

The first person escorted into the room was an overweight Muggle man. He had on thick glasses and his hair was thinning. The man looked panicked.

"Please, who are you? Where am I?" he begged. His escort threw him to the ground in the center of the circle. He looked up at the snake-like man in front of him. "Who the bloody hell are you people?"

"Ladies and gentlemen," the Dark Lord started, "this is Mr. Albert Cooper."

"How do you know my name?" the man asked in wonder. The Dark Lord pulled out his wand.

"CRUCIO!"

Mr. Cooper let out a scream of pain. His body convulsed and sizzled under the burning of his skin. Draco barely blinked. The Dark Lord released the curse.

"Mr. Cooper was overheard telling his daughter—Martha, right?—just a little over two months ago that she couldn't possibly be a witch for Halloween." Voldemort turned toward his followers. "Because witches do not exist." The room erupted into laughter, and Draco followed suit. "Instead she was told get a more _practical_ costume, like a doctor."

"But I can assure, Mr. Cooper, that witches _do _exist. In fact, you are about to meet one. Bellatrix, come forward."

Draco was appalled by how giddy Bellatrix was a she chasséd into the center of the ring. "Yes my Lord?"

"Would you like to be the first to have a go at the pathetic Muggle man before us? Let him see the power of a real witch?" the Dark Lord purred.

"Yes my Lord!"

"In fact, remove your mask. Let your face be the last he ever sees."

Bellatrix obeyed and removed her mask. She turned toward the man and blew him a deranged kiss as she pulled out her wand.

"No, please! I have a wife! I have 3 children I have to support!" the man begged on his knees. Draco could tell that the first Cruciatus had hurt him, perhaps cracked a few ribs.

"Poor, pathetic Muggle," Bellatrix cooed. "You think pleading will save your life? You were dead the second those hateful words toward us were SPOKEN! CRUCIO!"

The sound of the grown man screaming was grating on Draco nerves. But he remained stoic, as did Snape beside him. Bellatrix continued to torture the man until he was practically begging for death. But still, she continued to throw hex after hex, some ranging from cruel to lethal.

Finally, the Dark Lord put up his hand. Bellatrix knew it was time to finish.

"AVADA KEDEVRA!" she shrieked.

The man's body fell limp and his head hit the tile floor. He was positioned ever so perfectly in front of Draco, and the boy watched as the light drained from his eyes. The man's eyes were blue and green.

Draco mentally corrected himself. This Muggle wasn't just any man. He was Mr. Albert Cooper. He had a wife and three kids. And he was the first to die that night.

Draco knew he would never forget those eyes for as long as he lived.

XXX

It had only been two hours at most.

But there were so many that Draco had to remind himself not to vomit. He was determined to remember all of them; he had to remember all of their faces.

After Albert Cooper, there was a young woman named Sally Hill. She had been chosen because of her ample bosom. Rodolphus Lestrange immediately volunteered. After giving the petite lady the Cruciatus, he raped her. Draco watched calmly, even though on the inside he was burning.

This poor Muggle woman—he felt sick. He fought back the dinner that threatened to present itself at his feet.

After Rodolphus was finished, he gave her a painless death. Draco remained stoic.

He tightened his fists when they dragged in a little blonde girl named Clara. He guessed that she was nine years old. Her dress was tattered and muddy. They sat her in the center of the circle and she started to cry.

"I—I just w—want my mummy," she sobbed. Draco felt the anger bubbling inside of him, but his face never revealed it.

What made him even angrier was the fact that his father was the one to end the little girl's life.

Many more followed little Clara and Draco was yet to be called upon for his part. But as the next girl was dragged out, he realized he had spoken too soon. The girl was his age, no older than sixteen.

"Draco, it appears that I have been neglecting you all night," the Dark Lord hissed. "Come forward." Draco did not hesitate. He walked right up to the Muggle girl.

The girl had long hair and a freckled face. Her skin was like porcelain and she had plump pink lips. The girl looked unhealthily thin and Draco wondered when the last time she ate was.

"What is your name, Mudblood?" Draco barked. He was shocked that his voice did not crack.

The girl was shaking, her eyes were like a doe's. "Answer me, you disgusting excuse for a human!"

The girl was sobbing now. "MaryAnn Parker," she wailed. "W-what am I doing here? W-where am I?" Draco bent down and slapped her across the face.

"Draco, remove your mask. Let the filthy girl see who you are," the Dark Lord commanded. Draco did as he asked. The girl stared at him.

"Why, you're nothing but a boy," she speculated as she wiped her eyes. "What are you doing? You can't be more than 15 or 16 years old."

"Shut up," Draco said.

"Is this some kind of sick cult?" she asked, her voice a little more confident.

"Shut up," Draco repeated.

"I can get you out of this," she whispered. "We can go to the police and—."

"SHUT UP!" Draco yelled. The girl tried to reach for his hand. "CRUCIO!"

The teenage girl's screams filled the room. Draco ignored them and gave an evil smirk. On the inside he was crying. He released her.

"W-what," she started. She choked and coughed on her own blood. Her body shook violently, and Draco knew she was dying just from one hit. "What a-are you people?" Draco knelt down and grabbed a handful of her hair.

"We are the past, we are the present, and we are the future of this world!" he growled. "SECTUMSEMPRA!" Only he wasn't cutting her, he was cutting her hair. Her dark locks fell to the floor. She fingered them as they sat in front of her.

"CRUCIO!" he yelled. The girl screamed again. Her body spasm caused her to violently bang her head on the floor. The blood was pooling at his feet. He didn't know what else to do with her. Inwardly, Draco cringed when he thought of what he might have to do next.

Draco knelt down beside her and reached for his belt buckle. He was going to hurl.

The Dark Lord put up his hand. "Draco, that won't be necessary, please just finish the girl off so we can move on." Draco nodded and stood. The girl was barely breathing but Draco could see the fire in her eyes.

"You—are a—monster," she said rather slowly. Her body was failing on her. "You—and your people are a—disgrace and you will be stopped." She was speaking so low that Draco was sure that only he could hear her.

Draco felt his mind exploding. This was just too much to handle. For a split second he thought about giving up. If he was quick, he could grab the girl and make a run for the front door. He could Apparate somewhere, anywhere. Just so long as it wasn't here.

He would take care of her, make her well. He would beg for her forgiveness. He would bring her back to her Muggle family and give them whatever they wished.

It didn't matter that his plan was completely faulted. It didn't matter that he would be found and killed quicker than he could say 'Hippogriff'.

But in the end, it did matter. His cover would be blown. He would be putting everyone in danger. Professor Snape was already a suspect in Bellatrix's mind, and if Draco revealed himself he could bring danger to his godfather.

Hermione would be in danger as well. The Dark Lord would capture him and torture it out of him. She would suffer, she would die.

And that was why Draco stood up very slowly. He then pointed his wand at the girl in front of him and recited the unforgiveable spell.

"AVADA KEDEVRA!"

Her body fell limp and the fire left her eyes. Draco felt dead inside.

"Very good Draco! It is good to see such drive in a person so young as yourself. I think it was right to induct you when we did," the Dark Lord praised. Draco smirked and returned to his spot beside Professor Snape, who had done his fair share of dirty work for the night.

XXX

Draco tried to maintain as much focus as he possibly could, but the need to faint was growing with every passing moment.

Antonin Dolohov had some kind of sick bloodlust and was currently mercilessly severing the limbs of a Muggle man.

Draco was almost thankful when Dolohov finally finished him. He inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

"Before I let you go tonight, I have one more little gift that I would like to bestow upon one of you," the Dark Lord said. He turned and looked at all of his followers, all of whom had discarded their masks and robes at some point that evening.

"Draco Malfoy." Draco stood very still. "As a reward for your devotion and want to impress me, I give you one final bit of fun for tonight. Bring it in," he called.

"Let me go, you foul excuse for a man!" her voice cried out from the hall. Draco nearly hit the floor. "Dumbledore will find me! He will send all of you to Azkaban faster than you can blink!"

They let her go once she was in the center of the ring. She looked ghastly! Her hair was matted and dirty, she looked like some sort of orphaned child. The paleness of her face and arms frightened Draco; it was obvious that the girl hadn't seen the sun in quite some time.

After Draco surveyed her, he realized that she was shaking and a look of fear sat in the corner of her eye.

"Malfoy," she whispered, her voice was weak from dehydration. "Malfoy, please. W-we go to school together. P-please don't kill me." The tears were falling down from her chocolate eyes.

"Stupid girl!" Voldemort called. "I haven't brought you here to be killed! Draco is just going to have some fun with you again." Hermione's eyes widened. "Last time didn't go as planned considering you didn't tell a soul about it. But they know you have been abducted and they will find out what has happened to you." The Dark Lord stood up and walked around her in circles.

"Poor Mudblood Granger. Potter will do anything to avenge his little pet, even come here after me. But we all know that he will be walking into his own death."

"No! I'll tell him!" Hermione yelled. "I will tell him what you said! Harry won't come near this place!"

"Mudblood, when has the famous Harry Potter ever followed orders? He lets his anger get the best of him, and that will be his downfall," the Dark Lord smirked. "Nothing you can do or say will stop him from seeking me out." The Dark Lord turned to Draco now. "Would you? I would love to hear this chit scream."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: 12/12/12 Concert! Bon Jovi is currently singing and I am dying (I'm such a Jersey Girl!). Sandy, screw ya! Enjoy this next chapter! Read and review!**

* * *

Draco ran.

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He fled from the room as if it had the Plague. Nobody tried to stop him, he simply ran from the room.

He sprinted into the foyer and pulled on the heavy front door. Once it was open and he tore out of the house and into the front yard.

It was still snowing a considerable amount, but Draco didn't care, he just kept running. The snow crunched under his black shoes. The cold nipped at his face but he kept running.

Finally, once the Manor was just a miniature version of itself, he stopped. He stood breathing heavily, his breath flowing from his mouth and nose like swirls of steam. His fists were clamped shut tightly and his nails were leaving harsh marks on his skin.

This wasn't what was supposed to happen! Hermione was supposed to be safe! All of the work! All of the secrets! All of the lies and sacrifices! They were all for nothing!

Draco let out a roar. The world around him trembled as he let the anger inside of him escape. Then he fell to the ground, defeated.

Hermione Granger was in his home. She had been there all of this time. She had been suffering for weeks. They had kidnapped her from Hogwarts right under Dumbledore's nose!

Draco let out another roar. He pounded his fists into the snow, causing it to float into the air. He did it again. And again. Although the snow was white, all he could see was red.

He suddenly felt cold.

So cold.

XXX

"Would you? I would love to hear this chit scream."

Draco was quickly brought back to reality. The Dark Lord was addressing him.

"With pleasure, my Lord," he said with a cool smirk. He started toward Hermione, who was weakly crawling away from him.

"No, please," she said. "Malfoy, please. Not again, please." She was sobbing.

Draco continued toward Hermione while he unbuckled his belt. _Oh, Merlin, _he thought. His heart was racing. The guilt was welling in his chest over what he had to do.

He had to tell her, he had to let her know how sorry he was. Draco knelt down beside her. She scooted away as best as she could.

"Come, Granger, play along," he said before grabbing her wrist. He used his other hand to grab her face and pull her close to him. He only had one shot; he had to get it right. He looked her in the eye. She knew what he wanted.

Wordlessly, wandlessly. He had to get it right. He concentrated for a split second. _Legilimens,_ he thought. He spilled right in.

_Granger, I don't have much time. I-I'm so sorry. I-I have to do this. _

_I know. _He slipped out.

"Draco, what exactly are you looking at?" the Dark Lord asked. Draco turned toward him and smirked.

"The fear in her eyes, my Lord," he said before turning back to her.

"Malfoy, please," Hermione begged again. He snorted at her.

"You know, you aren't all that bad looking, for a Mudblood," he spat. He pushed her on her back. She was trembling. He tried to push her legs open. She resisted. He tried again, but only to have her claw at his hands and arms. "DAMN IT GRANGER! We all know you open your legs for Potter! This shouldn't be that hard!"

Draco slapped her hard across the face. Hermione screamed and her body went slightly limp. Draco seized the opportunity and forced her legs open before slipping between them. Hermione screamed in protest.

"Get off of me! Malfoy! Please! Stop this!" But her cries fell on deaf ears. Everyone in the room seemed to be enjoying her pain and humiliation. Draco unzipped his trousers and Hermione responded by punching him in the face.

"Bitch," he muttered while holding his face with one hand. He slapped her again and she gasped as her lip started to bleed. She was still trying to struggle against him. He pinned her down with his hands. When she finally stopped thrashing about, he removed a hand and used to it move his boxers to the side. _Damnit._

He didn't have even the slightest hint of a hard-on. Draco thought of a simple spell to fix the problem. Now that he was physically ready, he just needed to be mentally ready, and he was sure he would never be mentally ready.

Hermione continued to scream and cry. Draco reached up her flimsy night gown and pulled down her underwear. He tossed them aside and put his hand back under the dress.

"Oh, come now Granger, you aren't the slightest bit excited for me?" he teased. She screamed louder. He rubbed her a little bit for her sake. Hermione just screamed louder.

He knew he was going to have a hard time getting in. This was her first time and it was quite obvious to him. He pressed against her opening and held his breath. He knew she was going to cry the whole time and he prayed to some greater deity that he could finish.

Draco pushed into her quickly, tearing the innocence he had been trying to protect. Her eyes went wide for a slight second and she continued to holler. Draco tuned it out as best he could and started thrusting. Hermione shrieked.

"Malfoy! Stop! Stop it!" she sobbed. She was pushing on him, as if her petite body was enough to get him off of on top of her. Draco continued.

This didn't feel good in any way. Draco had sex with Pansy a number of times within the last few years and almost every time felt amazing.

But right now Draco felt sick and dirty. He was raping her. She had trusted him to protect her.

He knew that these thoughts were not helping, he had to continue this. He was far from finishing and that meant more time of humiliation for Hermione.

Draco focused as best he could on the feeling. He was having sex. This was sex and it felt good. It felt good. It felt good.

He continued to thrust into her. He put his hands into her hair. He held onto her waist. He even went as far as putting him hand on her breast which was clothed by her nightgown.

_Focus._

He thought about that night in the tiny broom closet. The memory filled him up. The smell of her clean, bushy hair. The look of lust in her eyes that he knew was also in his own eyes. He thought about the kiss he so desperately wanted from her. He thought about the feel of her lips on his.

Draco inwardly blushed at the butterflies forming in the pit of his stomach. He shamefully allowed the need in his core to slowly take over him. He knew he could finish if he went faster.

He picked up his speed, causing Hermione to cry harder, her face and body covered in a mix of her own tears and his sweat. Draco could feel it building up inside, the bottle was going to pop from the pressure soon.

Suddenly, the room went quiet except for the sound of Draco grunting as he pushed into her. He stopped when he realized the room was silent. Breathing heavily, he looked down at Hermione. The girl had passed out. Draco turned to Voldemort, who had a scowl on his face.

"I hate when they do that," he snorted with disgust. The Dark Lord turned to Snape. "Severus, do bring her back to Hogwarts now. Potter must be _dying_ to know where she is." Professor Snape bowed and stepped forward.

Draco realized he was still on top of the girl. He backed off of her and cleaned himself up with his wand. Snape lifted the unconscious girl into his arms and walked out of the room.

"That concludes the festivities, my friends. Enjoy your Christmases with your families," the dark man said before flowing out of the room with Bellatrix on his heels.

Draco stood up confidently. He grabbed his robe and mask before casually walking out of the room. He then went down the hallway and up the back flight of stairs to his bedroom on the second floor. As he walked up the steps he felt his knees giving in. His hand reached for the railing heavily as he forced himself up the stairs.

At the top he leaned on the wall like a drunken idiot and staggered forward to his door. He fiddled with the doorknob and turned it with shaky hands before letting himself into the room and collapsing on the floor.

XXX

"Miss. Granger," Hermione heard the voice say softly. "Miss. Granger."

Hermione opened her eyes slowly and saw Professor Snape in front of her. She panicked.

"Miss. Granger! Please relax, I am bringing you home," he said firmly. Hermione's breathe steadied.

"Where are we now?" she asked.

"We are in the Forbidden Forest. I only stopped because I thought you may have gotten splinched when we Apparated," he explained. "Are you alright?"

"I feel so weak," Hermione said. Her body ached in places that it shouldn't, then she remember what happened to her. "Professor, did all of that really happen?" Her voice was shaking.

"Miss. Granger, it is best not to dwell on that right now, we need to get you to Madame Pomfrey immediately," he responded. He picked her up again and started toward the school.

"Professor, I am able to walk," she offered. He let out a sigh.

"No, Miss. Granger. I can assure that walking is not going to help the situation. When was the last time you ate a proper meal?" he asked. Hermione thought for a moment.

"I've only been given small rations of bread and water over the past few days," she admitted. Professor Snape nodded.

"My point exactly, now would you stop trying to be so brave and allow me to carry you the rest of the way?" Hermione bowed her head.

XXX

Draco crawled into the bathroom as fast as he could. He barely reached the loo before his stomach emptied its contents into it. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and slumped next to the bowl.

Suddenly the clock in his bedroom struck midnight. The chimes rang throughout the room loudly and Draco covered his ears in order to block it out.

The clock continued to chime and by the ninth ring Draco was ready to explode. That bloody clock was driving him even closer to insanity than he already was. He stood quickly and ran into the bedroom to smash the damn thing.

When he got to the doorway, the Reductor spell on the tip of his tongue, he stopped short and dropped his wand.

The present from Hermione, which was still hidden under his pillow, was emitting a strange golden glow.

"The spell," he whispered before lunging for the box. Her charm to keep him out of the wrapping had just ended!

He fiddled with the thing for a moment, since his hands were still shaking. Then he carefully pulled the bow from around the box and ripped into the paper. He lifted the lid of the box and stared at the contents.

It was a ring.

Not just any ring, it was identical to the ring that was currently on his finger. The ring was silver with a green stone and it bore the letter M on it. Draco fingered it for a moment before taking off the ring he was currently wearing and replacing it with the one from Hermione.

He looked inside of the box again. There was a note. Draco unfolded it and read the message that was in Hermione's delicate handwriting.

_Draco,_

_Clear your mind, touch the ring, and count to 3. Sorry about the nausea. _

_Happy Christmas!_

_Hermione_

Draco's brow furrowed. He touched the ring gently and counted to three. Suddenly a pulling at his navel jolted him from the room.

XXX

"Professor Snape!" Madame Pomfrey called out. "Put the girl down on the bed right here and get the Headmaster!" Professor Snape did as he was told and gently put the weak Hermione on the empty bed Madame Pomfrey gestured to.

Hermione felt exhausted but she didn't want to sleep. She knew that Madame Pomfrey, Dumbledore, and the entire Ministry of Magic would want to know what had happened to her.

Professor Snape quickly left the room and Madame Pomfrey circled the bed with a curtain. "Take off those horribly dirty clothes, dear. I have some extra robes for after you get out of the bath. First we have to do some initial diagnostic spells and the Headmaster will want to speak to you, okay?" Hermione nodded and started to pull off the nightgown she was wearing.

"My dear, this is very important. You need to tell us exactly what happened regarding your health and wellbeing," Madame Pomfrey said gently as she put a blanket over Hermione's nude body. "Take your time, but we have to know."

"Could—Professor Snape be there?" Hermione asked. "He-he can help fill in the gaps."

"Of course, dear," she said.

"Poppy?" the Headmaster's gentle voice asked from outside of the curtain.

"Excuse me, dear," Madame Pomfrey said. Hermione nodded.

Hermione could hear them whispering lowly, even though she didn't care about what they were saying about her. She could here Dumbledore, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey. Rather quickly, the adults returned and assembled around the bed, including Professor Snape.

"Miss. Granger," the Headmaster said. "Whenever you are ready." Hermione took a deep breath; this was harder than she thought it was going to be.

"I-I was walking back to the Common Room one night from the library when I was attacked from behind. I don't know who it was, but they were definitely a man, I could tell by his hands. He knocked me out and when I woke up I…" she stopped. Her voice was trembling too much for my liking.

"I-I woke up in a s-sort of cell," she squeaked. Professor McGonagall put her hand on Hermione's shoulder. "I went back to sleep b-because I thought I was d-dreaming. But then I-I woke up and I was still in the c-cell."

"There were no windows in the cell, s-so I don't know exactly…" she stopped again. "I stood and felt light-headed. I was bleeding a little from my h-head. But I went to the d-door of the cell and said I needed to use the loo. Someone with a mask came and took me to a shabby b-bathroom."

"How long were you there, my dear?" Dumbledore asked. Hermione's eyes were blank.

"I-I don't know, I'm sorry. It had to be days at least," she muttered.

"No need to apologize, Miss. Granger," McGonagall said. Hermione nodded.

"I was given very little bread and water, and I remember blacking out a lot," she confessed. "T-then tonight I was dragged out of the cell and up some stairs. I-I knew I was being brought before Vol—the Dark Lord, and I was scared."

"I-I kept yelling at the person dragging me, I don't know why. Then we went into this b-big room and I saw him. He was vile, he was terrifying," Hermione said with tears in her eyes. "I was sure that I was going to be killed. But the Dark Lord said that I was going to be Harry's undoing. He wanted one of his Death Eaters to—to r-rape me."

The women in the room gasped. Professor Snape bowed his head slightly.

"Were you raped, child?" Hermione nodded sadly.

"Who was it, my dear?" McGonagall asked. Hermione shook her head. "Miss. Granger, who was it?" Professor Snape looked up at her and Hermione looked at him with question. The man nodded his head.

"It—he—he had no choice! He had to! He told me he had to!" Hermione said with tears in her eyes. "He was sorry! He didn't want to do it!"

"Miss. Granger! Please explain!" McGonagall said. Hermione's chest shook.

"He looked me in the eyes," she said. "He spoke to me; we can see each other's thoughts when he uses Legilimency."

"Who, my dear?"

"He said he was so sorry. I could hear the pain in his thoughts. We would have been killed if he didn't," Hermione explained. "He got on top of me and I gave him a hard time for show and he hit me and I hit him back."

"Who?"

"He could barely do it! He had to use a spell to perform," she continued and the tears ran down her nose and chin. "I saw right before he got on top of me."

"Who?"

"Draco Malfoy," Hermione sobbed.

* * *

**A/N: We find out where Draco is in the next chapter so don't freak out! :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I'm not dead! WEEEE! Happy New Year to all of you! Wow, this chapter is short and I feel really bad about it... I'm trying to get back in the weekly update habit. I'm sorry, I've been so busy that I don't even have time to breathe! **

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"He will be expelled immediately!"

"He will be sent to Azkaban!"

"The dementors can have him!"

Hermione closed her eyes tightly and covered her ears with her hands. Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall weren't listening to her! _Did they not just hear what I said?_

"I will notify the Order at once!"

"I will call the Ministry and send them straight to the Malfoy Manor!"

Hermione jumped up from her bed. The soreness in her legs made the task difficult, but she had to take her stand.

"No!" she shouted. The two older witches grew quiet. "You will do no such thing!" Hermione stomped her foot in protest. "You will not touch a single bloody hair on his head!"

"Miss. Granger—Hermione, dear—please get back in bed," McGonagall said. Hermione remained where she was.

"Draco Malfoy did what had to be done," she said firmly.

"I don't understand, Miss. Granger," McGonagall nearly whispered. "You have hated the boy since the very first day you came through the main doors." Hermione turned to Professor Snape and Dumbledore.

"She has to know." She turned back to the Scottish witch. "Draco Malfoy has been protecting me. It was revealed a while ago that the Dark Lord wanted—wanted to break me. Draco's conscience must have gotten to him, because he volunteered for the task with the intention of never harming me. He is skilled in Occlumency and Legilimency and he was able to fabricate a memory that would please the Dark Lord."

"So you have been working together?"

Hermione nodded. "Once a week we would meet in secret and help to make his memory as real as possible. So real, in fact, that Draco almost couldn't break it because it felt genuine." Hermione choked a little. "His plan was genius." The tears welled in her eyes. "Then I messed it up and got myself kidnapped from being in the library too late."

Professor Snape spoke now. "Miss. Granger, you can hardly blame yourself in this-."

"Yes I can," she whispered. "It was perfect, Draco had it all worked out. He went through so much to keep me and himself safe and then I couldn't even keep myself safe." She looked at her Potions professor.

"Did you see it? The look in his eye?" Professor Snape shook his head. "I did. He was begging for forgiveness."

XXX

Draco didn't care that he was absolutely freezing. In fact, he actually wished the numbness in his toes and hands would spread throughout his whole body so that he wouldn't feel this pain.

He didn't know how long he had been there, sitting in the middle of a snowy field as a blizzard whipped around him, but he knew exactly where he was.

Hermione Granger was smart, he knew that. But he never imagined she would make an illegal Portkey. The ring was inside of his frozen fingers. It had brought him to the snowy field in Sweden where he and Hermione had first made the snow angels.

Snow angels. _Snow angels._ Hermione loved the snow angels.

Draco fell on his back and with the little energy he had left he began making a snow angel. So pure, so wonderful, so Hermione. He sat up and stepped away from his creation with tears in his eyes at the thought of her.

This was no angel. The shape was irregular and lopsided, most likely from the blizzard that would probably freeze him. But Draco could only think of how ugly the imprint looked.

"I'm a monster," he whispered to no one in particular.

XXX

"Where is my wand?" Hermione asked frantically. Professor Snape put up his hand.

"Do not panic, Miss. Granger. I was given your things as I carried you out of the Manor." He reached into his pocket and pulled out her shrunken items. Once he restored them she saw that he had her wand, her black cloak she had been wearing the day of her attack and her book from the library. He put the items on her bed and then he and the other adults left the girl to some rest.

But Hermione had something to do before she could rest. She dug around her cloak pockets. _Please be okay, please be okay._ She felt it! The Galleon! Hermione pulled it out and quickly pointed her wand at it. Then she stopped.

What could she say?

She sat awkwardly. What could she possibly say? She _had_ to say _something_!

She slowly pointed her wand at the Galleon.

XXX

Draco wanted to die; he wanted to freeze to death right there in the field. He could feel his body begging him to shut down. He closed his eyes in agreement, ready for it all to end.

Suddenly a warmth grew in his pocket. He hadn't felt it in days and he was sure he would never feel it again, yet there it was.

With stiff arms his numb fingers grabbed at the coin. He dropped it in the deep snow. Very slowly, with as much concentration as he could muster, he dug for the coin. The snow was so cold on his fingers that it stunk and burned his nerves. He was barely aware when the coin was in his hand.

With his wand in his other hand he read the message.

**Merry Christmas, Draco.**

Draco's heart stopped.

XXX

Hermione needed to see him, somehow. She had to know if he was okay since it had been several minutes and he hadn't answered her Galleon message. She was in the hospital wing all alone now, as it was early morning, Christmas morning.

She quietly dug in her cloak pocket again and pulled out a tiny locket. She held on to it and counted to three.

The blizzard she landed in was terrible. She could only see a few feet in front of her. But if she squinted, it wasn't hard to make out the dark figure against the white. The figure sat in the deep snow, not moving. When she moved closer she could see that the figures hair blended in with his surroundings.

"Draco," she whispered. She was suddenly afraid to move any closer. Why was he sitting in the middle of field during a blizzard?

She sent another message.

XXX

**Please be okay. **

Draco felt the tears burning down his cheeks as he struggled with the guilt that was tormenting him. Hermione was worried about him would it should have been the other way around. He was the one that had raped her.

He lashed out at the snow.

XXX

Hermione watched as Draco pounded the snow beside him. He was being tortured by his own guilt and Hermione felt powerless to help him. There had to be something she could say, something to make him calm down before he hurt himself. He had to go home, he would freeze to death.

She quickly pointed her wand at the coin once more.

XXX

The coin grew hot again.

**I forgive you.**

He stared at the message for a second, completely in shock at what he read. She forgave him.

She forgave him.

Draco laughed. He filled the air with the obnoxious noise as the wave of relief washed over his body and warmed his insides.

Draco touched the Portkey and counted to three before being pulled back into his bedroom, completely oblivious to the fact that someone else left the field as well.

XXX

Hermione woke up the next morning with only mild soreness and practically begged Madame Pomfrey to allow her to go to the Great Hall for Christmas breakfast.

Finally, the elder woman allowed her to go and Hermione wasted no time racing to the Gryffindor Common Room to get dressed.

Hermione showered quickly, tackled her unruly hair, and then went straight to the Great Hall. As far as she knew, Harry and Ron were unaware that she had returned.

She practically skipped to their table with excitement. Neither boy turned around as she stood behind them. She tapped on their shoulders. Harry turned first.

"Oh hey Hermione!" he said happily. "What are you doing here?" Ron turned around as well.

"Yeah, were your parents regretting their last minute decision and sent you back early?"

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked in disbelief. "What are you talking about?"

"Stop messing around, Hermione," Harry laughed. "We aren't mad at you for leaving us behind. We get it, your parents wanted you home." Hermione nodded.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Ron asked.

"What were you told?" she asked.

"Nothing really," Harry started. "A week or so ago when you left, Professor McGonagall told us that Dumbledore received a letter from your parents the day before stating that you would be leaving the next day for holiday. Your parents had arranged for some Wizarding friend that they made in Diagon Alley would bring you back to London."

"So we didn't question it and McGonagall said she didn't remember seeing you leave so it must have been sometime early in the morning and that Dumbledore had probably saw you off," Ron finished.

_So that's why nobody questioned where I was. All of the Professors just assumed I was home. _

"Is everything okay?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded.

"Just a bit tired. I just got back. Will you excuse me?" Hermione turned and walked up to the High Table.

"Yes, Miss. Granger?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"They can't know," Hermione said slowly. "Please, they can't know, no one can know." Dumbledore nodded.

"As you wish, Miss. Granger. No one outside of six of us will know."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Today was NOT a good day, both physically and mentally, but I won't bore you with my problems. ****Read and review, thank you for all the wonderful reviews and follows from last post! I'm glad some of you like it!**

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Hermione sat in the Great Hall for breakfast that morning like she did every day. Ron and Harry were once again talking about Quidditch and Hermione put on her usual polite face as she tuned them out. Even though she knew she shouldn't, she continually glanced up at the main doors as if looking for somebody.

That's because she was looking for somebody. She looked up from her plate again and inwardly scolded herself when her gaze fell upon the entrance. She looked back at her plate.

"Isn't that great, Hermione?" Ron asked her. Hermione nodded.

"That's wonderful," she said cheerfully even though she had absolutely no idea what they were discussing. Hermione looked up at the door again. _Damnit._ She stabbed her eggs in frustration.

Where was he? Everyone was due back at school today and as far as Hermione could tell he was the only one missing from the room.

The door opened. Hermione's head snapped in the direction of the person who had just entered the room. _Damnit! Mr. Filch!_ Hermione watched with annoyance as the strange older man scurried into the room with his cat trailing closely behind him.

"Hermione?" Harry repeated. She turned back to the boys in front of her.

"Yes?"

"I've been calling you for a while, are you feeling all right?" the boy with the scar asked and reached out his hand to take her temperature. Hermione brushed him away.

"I can assure you, I am perfectly fine," she stated.

"But you're acting really strange," Harry observed. "You've been very quiet ever since you got back over holiday. Did something happen?"

_Yes._ "No, Harry," Hermione sighed. "Nothing happened, I've just have a lot on my mind with classes starting up again and all."

"Well, if something is bothering you, you always have Ron and me to talk to," Harry said gently. He put his hand on hers and Hermione closed her eyes for a second.

"Thank you, Harry," she said. "I really appreciate what you are saying but once again, there is nothing wrong with—."

The doors opened once again and this time Hermione dropped her fork. Draco strode into the room and headed for the Slytherin table. He looked absolutely normal as he sat down next to Pansy and Blaise. Hermione, on the other hand, had turned an alarming shade of white.

"Hermione," Harry said. "Hermione!" Hermione turned back to him. "What's wrong with you?" Hermione stared at him with a vague look in her eye. "We are going to the hospital wing right now."

"Harry, I am fine," she insisted even though she felt dizzy. "I'm just fine." Harry snorted.

"And Professor Snape's my uncle," he snapped. "Let's go." He stood but Hermione remained seated. "Hermione…"

"Harry…" she protested.

"Just tell me what's wrong," he said. Hermione remained quiet.

"Fine then," Harry said rather loudly as he walked out of the room. Ron finally joined the conversation.

"Hey, what's eating him?" he joked. Hermione stood up and walked out.

XXX

Draco was nervous about returning to school, of course. It also didn't help that he had let the Manor late and would walk in during the middle of breakfast for the whole school to see. But he was really worried about seeing a certain Gryffindor girl.

He knew that their friendship was completely ruined after what happened Christmas Eve, but would she be afraid of him? He knew she would be. She would most likely never look at him again; he could barely look at himself. If he saw the fear in her eyes he would probably break down right there.

So when he walked into the Great Hall on the first day back at school, he refused to make eye contact with her. _Just go straight to the table. Not even one glance._

His friends welcomed him back and he started eating his breakfast as if nothing was wrong. And not once did he even look at the bloody Gryffindor table.

But he couldn't stop himself from hearing.

He was sure the whole room heard the-boy-who-wouldn't-die angrily say something to Granger before removing himself from the room. Draco still didn't look in their direction.

XXX

Draco could not sleep. He actually hadn't slept in over a week. Every time he closed his eyes he could see that night; he could hear her screaming. He covered his ears in an attempt to block out the noise in his head.

He sat up.

He laid back down.

He sat up again.

Draco threw the covers from off of him and went into the bathroom. He was so tired but he knew his mind would never be a rest.

There was only one place in the castle that he always felt comfortable in. The place was filled with wonderful memories, hopefully ones that would replace the images that currently plagued his mind.

He went back to his bed and quietly grabbed a pillow and a blanket. He then surrounded himself in a spell before slipping out of the common room and into the dark corridor. It had to be about one in the morning and he was sure nobody would be awake.

He turned a few corners and climbed a few stairs before he arrived where he wanted to be. The old wooden door of the tiny broom closet looked so warmly familiar that Draco almost cried at the fact that there had been a time that he hated the closet. He touched the door handle and turned it.

When he opened the door he almost hit the floor.

Hermione Granger's bushy head sat up from off the floor surrounded by some pillows and a blanket. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and then stared at him with her mouth open.

"Malfoy?" she asked quietly, tenseness in her voice. She hugged the pillow close to her body.

Draco stared at the floor. "I'm sorry; I didn't realize that you would be here. I just needed some—some sleep is all."

"Same."

"I'll be going now," he said and turned.

"No wait," Hermione said. She tried to keep herself from shaking. She shouldn't be scared of him, he had saved her life. "We both can't sleep. We've been here before. P-please come in."

Draco turned back to her, still not meeting her eyes. "Thank you," he said slowly. Hermione moved over and made room for him in the closet. He sat down in the space and closed the door.

"How have you been, Malfoy?" she asked quietly. Draco stared at his hands and cleared his throat.

"Fine, just fine. You?" he said. _Damn, that was a bad question._ Draco closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, I just meant, never mind." They sat quietly. "I'm going to go." He stared to get up.

Hermione reached for his hand and they both froze. "I need to say something first," she said. Draco reluctantly sat back down and returned to staring at his hands. "Malfoy, please look at me."

"I can't," he said.

"Why not?"

"I just can't," he said through gritted teeth.

"Why?"

"Because I can't!" he shouted and brought his hands to his face. The images of that night flashed in his mind again. "I'm sorry," he said frantically. "I'm so sorry."

Hermione remained silent. "I am so sorry, Hermione. I—what happened that night—I'm so sorry." He lifted his head and looked at her. "It—I didn't know about it. I-I was supposed to keep you safe."

Hermione stared at the boy in front of her. He looked so small and broken. Draco started to cry. "Please—please forgive me, Hermione." Her heart shattered.

Hermione grabbed him in a hug and she sighed when she felt him wrap his arms around her waist. He shook almost violently as she whispered in his ear.

"Malfoy, I forgive you. You are so brave; you did what you had to do, Malfoy. Thank you, thank you for everything. I would be dead right now if it wasn't for your bravery. We would both be dead."

She pulled away slightly to look at him. His eyes were clouded with sadness and she could feel the pain radiating from them. Hermione stared for another moment before she did it.

She kissed him.

She leaned in and brushed her lips against his. At first he seemed scared, but she leaned in a little more and he did the same.

Draco knew this wasn't a romantic kiss. It was a hurting kiss. He felt so broken and he knew Hermione more than likely felt the same way. When she first brushed against his lips he felt afraid. When she leaned in closer he felt the healing and he knew he wanted to heal.

Hermione tasted like honey and cleanliness. The kiss sent power and energy coursing throughout his body, like all the piece were being mended back together. He kept his hands on her waist, afraid that he would somehow mess up this moment of peace.

When it was over they stared at each other. Draco pulled her in for another hug.

"Thank you, Malfoy," she whispered again. "Thank you for saving me."

"Anytime, Granger," he said smugly. "Anytime."

"We should get some sleep, you know," she pointed out. Draco's expression quickly changed.

"I think I should go back to my dormitory," he said quickly. The fear was returning; the images in his head were flashing again.

"Wait, what?" she asked. Draco closed his eyes. He saw her under him.

"I think I need to go back to my dormitory," he repeated. "I can't." He stared grabbing his things.

"Malfoy, what's wrong?"

Another image flashed in his mind. She was screaming again.

"I just need to go," he said.

"Please tell me what's wrong," she insisted.

"This is what's wrong!" he shouted. Hermione jumped. "I can't sleep here because you are sleeping here."

"What do you mean?"

"The last time I was that close to you I was…." he stopped.

"Just moments ago you were very close to me," she pointed out.

"That was different."

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't different, Malfoy," Hermione said. Draco shook his head.

"I-I can't do it, Granger. Your body—mine—we would be so close together. I won't be able to not remember. What if—what if—."

"Malfoy, honestly. Do you really think you could accidently rape me?" Hermione joked. Draco stared at her.

"Don't laugh at me, Granger. You know I don't mean it like that," he snapped. "What I mean is that I frequently have nightmares. Nightmares where we are in the Manor and I am on top of you as you scream. Now imagine I have that nightmare while I am sleeping next to you. Are you trying to kill me?"

Hermione sat quietly.

"I see it every damn night. I see you and I see what I did and I can't help but hate myself for it. I cannot wake up to you next to me or else I may die."

"Draco, I just want to—."

"You can't help me," he said. "Now, good night, Granger." He opened the door.

"You are wrong, you know," she said.

"Wrong about what?"

"Avoiding me is not going to help. We need to work on this together. Don't you see, Malfoy?" Draco stared at her. "We had a friendship before Christmas. You kept telling me to trust you and I did."

"Your first mistake," he mumbled.

"Let me finish. I trusted you and I'm glad I did."

"Why?"

"Let me finish. You did what you had to do, Malfoy. I respect you for that. Now, all I ask is that you trust me. Trust me, Draco Malfoy," she said. "You need me more than you realize."

He stared at her. "I can't hurt you again."

"You never did and you never will," she said.

"How can you say that? How can you know?" His heart was racing in his chest.

"Trust me."

XXX

Draco sat up quickly. He was sweating profusely and his body shook.

"Granger," he whimpered. Hermione opened her eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked. He was breathing very hard.

"I keep seeing it," Draco said. "It won't go away." Hermione sat up. They had only been asleep for a few hours.

"Draco, think of something, think of something happy," she said while carefully touching his hand.

"Like what?" he asked.

"Think of your first day at Hogwarts when you were eleven," she said as Draco closed his eyes. "The boat ride here, the Sorting Hat putting you into Slytherin." Draco smiled. "Good, good."

"I could have been in Ravenclaw, you know," he said. "But all of those pureblood ideas sent me right to Slytherin. The hat never even sat on my head. Sometimes I wonder if I had a different family if I could have been in Ravenclaw."

"I honestly believe you would make a fantastic Gryffindor," Hermione said. Draco made a face.

"Gee, Granger, that makes me feel just _peachy_."

Hermione laughed. "Can we please go back to bed? You seem to have made it through this round." Draco smirked.

"Yeah, I suppose I did."


End file.
